When Elements Collide
by KailJoy
Summary: After an accident, Katara and Zuko are thought to be dead by there friends and family. But they are alive. This is their story. Of how they survived and of something more. Zutara,Taang,SokaSuki
1. The beginning of a new life

-1**"When Elements Collide."**

**A prophecy as old as the beginning of time.**

**Two bender's.**

**One born of fire.**

**One born of water.**

**Opposites.**

**Yet they are destined.**

**Destined for great things.**

**They must combine to save themselves.**

**And the world. **

**It is destined.**

**That the **

**Elements will combine.**

Katara woke up when she heard yelling but she didn't open her eyes. It was probably just Toph complaining about being to far away from the ground, or Sokka yelling because Momo had taken his last bit of seal jerky, Momo screeching because he had tried to hit Momo with his boomerang, or it could be all three with Aang laughing his head off.

She sighed and thought about what had happened in the past few days. Azula was after them again, which made them quickly take off on Appa. They had been on Appa for four days and part of the night. Katara silently sighed as she tried to think of something to do. She could mend clothes. Nothing to mend at the time. She could talk to the others. Nope. Toph was a grouch when she was off the ground and Sokka and Aang couldn't hold an intelligent conversation for more than a minute. She could eat. Not hungry. She could sleep. She had already slept too much. There wasn't much that you could do on a flying bison that was flying. She could have watched the sights but there was nothing to look at. Just water all around them. She had almost forgotten what land looked like.

"HEY KATARA!!!" Sokka yelled, making Toph cringe. She was blind, so her other senses were higher than a normal persons. "ARE YOU AWAKE YET???"

"If she wasn't before, she would be now." Toph said. "Hey twinkle-toes." she said to Aang. He turned his head towards her a little. "Could you yell in my ear to see if I can still hear out of it?" she jokingly asked. But Aang didn't get the joke and he yelled in her ear. She screamed a threat to throw him off the bison if he ever did that again.

"Calm down, Toph." Katara said as she crawled out of her sleeping bag. "If we did, who would defeat the Fire Lord?" Toph rolled her eyes and turned her back to all off them.

"Its about time you woke up!" Sokka cried.

"I told you to wake me up if I fell asleep." she irritably said. Sokka and Aang shrugged.

"We tried. But you hit me in the arm and you punched Sokka in the eye." Aang explained. Katara looked at Sokka and sure enough, there was a black bruise forming around his eye.

"Sorry." she said. Toph sighed.

"Are we near land yet?" she asked. Aang and Sokka sighed.

"How many times is that, Sokka. And the answer, again, is no." Aang answered in an exasperated voice. Katara guessed that she had asked before.

"I think that it is……15 times." Sokka said after counting on his fingers. Aang sighed and Toph snickered. Sokka shook his head and turn back to watch the ocean. Soon he gasped and leaned forward. Katara quickly moved and grabbed his pants before he fell off.

"Sokka! What are you doing?" she cried. He excitedly pointed out to a blob on the horizon.

" Isn't that land" he said. They all quickly turned their heads and cheered. Appa quickly turned and sped off towards the land.

(Dream)

_"Where am I?" he asked the darkness. He was alone. He turned around and around, trying to find some light in the darkness. Suddenly a blast of reddish light came from behind him. He spun around, ready to welcome the light, but he froze. The light was coming from a giant wall of fire. He turned to run but only found that the wall was behind him too. He frantically looked for an opening, a way out, but there was none. He was trapped. _

_The fire seemed to tease him, to laugh at him. Parts off it jumped off the wall in spikes and arches._

_"STOP IT!" he cried out, but that only seemed to fuel it. He sunk to his knees and screamed. "JUST STOP IT!!!" the fire started its laughing again, enjoying seeing him in agony. But suddenly it went silent. He lifted his head and his eyes went wide. Standing in front of him was a man, no, a giant, made out of flames. He desperately tried to stand, to run away, but the feeling had gone out of his legs. The giant smiled evilly at his struggling. It reached its hand out and a fire ball appeared in front of it. The breath caught in his throat when he tried to scream. The giant thrust its hand forwards and the fire ball went flying at him. His eyes went wide and contorted in pain when it made contact. "AHHHHHHHHH!!!!" he screamed as the flames spread over his body. It didn't consume him, as he had thought it would. The fire wrapped itself around his arms and legs, bringing him as much pain as possibly. The giant laughed evilly before fading away as the wall replaced it. But before it completely disappeared, it said one thing._

_"Pain and suffering, boy, Pain and suffering." then it was gone. The walls also disappeared with it, leaving him alone in his pain. He yelled and screamed at the pain that consumed him. He pulled his legs up to his chest and curled himself into a ball. He still screamed and tears started rolling down his face. _

_"Just stop it. Please. Make it stop." he said quietly to himself over and over again. Right after he said that, the flames started to flare up. He let go of his legs and started flailing around, effortlessly trying to put the flames out._

_"Nephew." a voice said. He felt a pair of hands shaking him. But he didn't open his eyes, afraid of what he would see._

_"No." he moaned trying to get away. He couldn't move again. His legs and arms felt like they were pinned down. He kept trying to get free, to run._

_"Nephew." the voice said again. He just kept struggling. "I sorry that I had to do this…" he heard the voice say. He tried to get away, not wanting to know what the voice was going to do to him when……._

(End dream)

**_SPLASH!!_** Zuko shot up as he felt the cold liquid hit his skin. His uncle was standing over him with an empty bucket in his hands.

"Sorry, but it was the only way that I could wake you." Iroh said. "You were yelling out and flailing around on your sleep. Another bad dream?" he asked. Zuko sighed.

"The one with the walls made of fire and the man." he quietly said. Iroh took that as a yes and didn't go into it. He knew how the dreams plagued Zuko's sleep. They plagued his, too. "I'm going back to sleep." Zuko tiredly said. Iroh nodded and Zuko was asleep before his head even hit the ground. Iroh didn't go back to sleep. He sat by the fire and thought. They couldn't keep going like this. They were constantly on the run. If it wasn't fire nation, it was earth kingdom. They were wanted every where. They needed some real food and a lot of sleep. Zuko was up at the crack of dawn and didn't go to sleep until late. Even then. He was plagued by nightmares. Some were about his Agni Ki and his banishment. Other were about losing everyone who ever cared about him. His mother, his uncle, the only family he had left. Iroh sighed and looked over at Zuko. His breathing was uneven and every so often he mumbled out an incoherent word. Iroh stood up and walked over to his sleeping mat and laid down to try to get some sleep.

Katara sighed as she sat the dying fire. It was very early in the morning, the sun had barely risen. She hadn't slept since they had landed because she had gotten enough sleep on Appa. All of the other were asleep. She smiled and walked over to her brother. He turned in his sleep and smiled.

"Yue." he breathed out as he turned on his side. Katara's eyes widened when she heard that name. Her and Aang had thought that he was over her by now. They hadn't really talked about the North Pole around Sokka since it was a touchy subject. They had hoped that he would get over it but the heart doesn't heal easily. Katara knew how it felt.

_Please, Yue._ she thought as she looked at the fading moon._ Watch over Sokka and Aang and Toph. I have a feeling that I won't always be here to look after them. Please Yue. You care about Sokka as much as I do…._ she jerked her head up when she heard a loud crash in the forest. She crept to the side of the cliff they had chosen to rest on and gasped. The fire nation was also here. She spun around and say that the soldiers had already surrounded their camped. They smiled evilly as they silently walked out of the forest. Katara let out a scream, waking the others, and preparing for the battle ahead.

"Zuko." Zuko moaned as he brought himself back to consciousness. He squinted and saw his uncle standing over him. He also say that it was still early in the morning.

"What is it, Uncle? Can't it wait?" he groggily asked.

"No it can't. Get up and prepare for battle." he said. That got Zuko's attention. He shot up.

"Did they find us?" he quickly asked as he stood. Iroh shook his head.

"No, but they found someone else." Iroh said as he pointed to a nearby cliff. There was smoke rising from it and Zuko noticed that he could feel small tremors in the earth. "Hurry. We must help." Zuko was about to say that they should run away, but Iroh glared at him. He shut his mouth and quickly followed him towards the cliff and to his fate.

Katara gasped for breath as she pulled more water up the cliff. This general, Cho, was strong. Aang was having a little bit off trouble beating him. Even his soldiers were strong. They had been fighting for an hour. Sokka had been knocked senseless and Toph had a large cut on her arm, Aang didn't have any cuts but he was starting to tire. So was Katara. She had already knocked out more men then she could count but they just kept coming. She had a long cut running up her arm and another on her leg.

"Got you now, kid!" General Cho said. She glanced over and saw that Aang was clutching his arm in pain. The soldiers saw that she was distracted and they attacked. She gasped as the flames flew around her and she involuntarily back up. Soon she was on the edge off the cliff and the soldiers were surrounding her. They prepared to strike and she closed her eyes, not wanting to see her own death but it never came. She saw a bright blast of light in front of her eyes and she peeked one of them open. All of the soldiers were gone. She looked to the left of her and her eyes widened. Standing in a fighting stance was the retired dragon of the west, Iroh. The one that had always traveled with Zuko!

"Are you alright?" he asked as he turned to her. She hardened her eyes and took a fighting stance. He stared at her for a minute before sighing. "Young lady, I'm not here to fight. Does it look like I am with them?" he asked. She took a good look at him. He was wearing earth kingdom clothes and his ponytail was gone. His clothes were dirty and it looked like he hadn't had a decent bath in weeks.

"Sorry." she said as she drooped her stance. "Its just that you guys chased us all the way to the north pole so….." she trailed off, not sure off what to say. Iroh smiled at her.

"Its okay. But we're not her to talk, now are we?" he said. She looked up and saw her friends still fighting.

"Right." she said. Iroh ran up the hill to help the others and Katara said there and fought the soldiers that never seemed to stop coming.

Zuko ran up the other side off the hill, staying in the forest. He started to run faster when he heard a shrill shriek of a girl. He burst out of the forest and saw that the water tribe girl standing on the edge of the cliff, surround by soldiers. The others hadn't heard her scream. He ran forward and hit the closest soldier on the head knocking him unconscious. He ran through them and stood in front of the girl.

"Why are you here?" she spat out. She hadn't forgiven him yet,

"My uncle is helping, so why can't I?" he said as he fought the soldiers. The girl came forward and started fighting also.

"Your uncle didn't attack my home, or Aang. Your uncle also didn't chase us all the way to the north pole." she said as she used a water whip on a soldier.

"People change." he said. They continued fighting but more and more soldiers kept coming. Soon they were both too exhausted to bend anymore. The soldiers smirked at them. Zuko thought that they were going to use flames to kill them but they didn't. A few soldiers drew their swords and Zuko's eyes widened as he realized what they were going to do. He also saw that they didn't have enough time to run away. Katara screamed as they struck the swords in the ground, breaking part of the cliff off. The others heard her scream and looked over. But they were too late. All they saw was Katara's and Zuko's terrified faces as they disappeared over the cliff and all they could do was scream. Sokka, Toph, Aang. And even Iroh screamed as they disappeared.

Katara tried to scream but her breath caught in her throat. She felt something wrap around her waist but she didn't care. All she could think was _I gonna die, I'm gonna die._

"Don't worry. I won't let you die." Zuko said from behind her. She realized that he was holding onto her waist. "We will survive." She nodded. Then she screamed as the rock fell down on their heads. She heard Zuko groan and felt his grip on her waist loosen. She turned her head and saw that he was out cold. She turned and grabbed onto him and felt her necklace come off. But she didn't care. Right now, all she wanted to do was save herself and him. She just had enough time to take a breath before they hit the water. She almost cried out when her leg caught on a submerged rock. She was quickly caught up in the current and they were pulled away. Just as it felt like her lungs were about to burst, they were tossed onto the shore. She lay gasping for breath. She looked over at Zuko and saw that he was still unconscious. Thankfully he was still breathing. But he did have a bad gash on his forehead. Katara tried to stand to heal it but she couldn't move. She fell back on the sand next to Zuko and let the sun warm her body. Her eyelids grew heavy and she feel asleep next to Zuko, her old enemy.


	2. The Painful Realization

-1Hey all! KJ here, hope you like the first chapter! Time 4 reviews!

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ON WITH THE STORY!!!

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Aang screamed as he saw Katara fall. The old man also screamed for Zuko. When he heard the rocks start crashing into the ocean, he realized that they couldn't have survived that. That pushed him over board. His eyes and his arrow started to glow and he rose off the ground. Sokka and Toph tried to get him to stop but it was too late. He was already in the Avatar State.

"You!" he said in a voice that wasn't his own. Cho backed away, clearly afraid. Aang reached his arm out and sent a large blast off air out. Cho screamed as he went flying towards the forest. Aang turned toward the soldiers and blew them away also. The last that they saw of Cho, he was running into the forest with his soldiers behind him.

"Aang! Stop!" Sokka yelled, trying to get Aang out of the avatar state. He looked at Sokka before coming back to them. He stared at the ground once he sat. "Its alright." Sokka sadly said.

"No, she can't be gone." Aang said. He really cared for her. Toph walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. Iroh stood off to the side, not knowing if he should go over.

"Aang." Sokka sadly said. Everyone turned to look at him. "We should look for her body. We should at least give her a proper burial." Aang sighed and got up. Toph just stood next to him.

"Yeah, Aang. We should and we will need your help." Toph agreed. She even used his name, making them sure that she was serious. They started to walk away when Iroh stopped them.

"Wait, Avatar. Please, let me help you." he offered. Sokka turned and glared at him.

"Why should we let you help? You're a fire bender." he spat out at him. "You were with Zuko." Iroh hung his head.

" I know and…." he started to say but Aang cut him off.

"Its alright. You can help." Aang said. Sokka opened his mouth to object but Aang cut him off. "And Sokka. Iroh is our friend. He helped us out at the north pole and again at the abandoned village. So, no bad mouthing him." he said in a very serious voice. Iroh smiled at him.

"Thank you, Avatar." he said.

"Its nothing. And my name's Aang. The water tribe warrior with a vengeance for fire benders is Sokka, and the girl is…" he said when Toph cut him off.

"He knows who I am, Aang. I met him at the abandoned village. Hey Tea man. Still drinking a lot of tea?" she said. Iroh smiled at her.

"Yes. And I am glad that you have such a good group of people to travel with, just like you said. But I am afraid that I never did get your name." he told her. She smiled.

"I'm Toph." she said. "Let me guess. You want to find the other body. I think that the others said that he was your nephew?" she guessed. He nodded.

"Yes. He was like a son to me, so I wish for him to have a proper burial for a fire bender." he sadly said.

"Yeah. That's what I want for my sister. She should have a proper water tribe burial." Sokka agreed. "Lets started looking, alright?" he said. The others nodded and they climbed down the cliff face in search of their friends and families bodies. Soon they were searching the rumble. Iroh went to the edge of the fallen rocks. He was about to turn away but he saw something. He reached down and pulled a necklace out from the rocks.

"Aang. I think that I found something." Iroh said. The others looked up and walked over. Iroh held out the necklace and Aang and Sokka gasped. Aang took the necklace and closed his eyes. "I take it that it is important?" Iroh asked. Aang nodded.

"Its…. my sisters necklace." Sokka choked out, not able to hold back his tears anymore. "It was the last thing that we had to remember our mother." Aang was also crying now. Their worst fears had been realized.

"You do realized what has probably happened, right?" Iroh sadly said. The others sadly looked at him. "We probably won't ever find the bodies because they might be trapped over the rocks." Iroh sobbed. The other were all crying now, too. "You were like a son to me, Zuko. I already lost one son, why did I have to lose another?" Iroh sobbed out.

"KATARA!" Sokka cried. "NO!!!"

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Zuko groaned at his sore limbs as he started to wake up. He tried to shift but he body cried out in pain. He just laid there for a few minutes, trying to remember what had happened. He felt the sun hit his face and he slowly opened his eyes. He saw that he was on a beach, where or why he was on a beach, he didn't really know. He heard someone sigh next to him and he sat upright, despite the pain. Next to him was the water tribe girl. He looked around and saw that they were on a main island, one that would have a town. He hoped. He felt water on his shoes and he saw that the tide was coming in. He stood and looked at the girl for a minute before picking her up. He then turned and carried her bridal style into the forest.

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Katara winced as her body cried out in pain. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up when she saw that she wasn't on the beach anymore. She was in a forest. She glanced around and saw that she was in a crudely made camp. She also saw Zuko on the other side of the camp, leaning up against a tree. She stood and slowly walked over to him. He was slumped over, fast asleep. He also had a crude bandage around his head where the gash was. Katara reached for her water pouch but it was empty. She sighed and torn off a piece of her dress, from the bottom, of course. She pulled off his dirty bandage and put a new one on. Then she walked back towards the fire and tended to her own wounds.

"No….." she heard Zuko say. She looked over at him and saw that he was moving around a little.

_He must be having a bad dream._ she thought. She stood up and walked over to him. She reached out and gently shook him on the shoulder. He gasped as he sat up. "You alright?" Katara asked. He hung his head for a minute, trying to catch his breath. When he lifted his head, he had a sad look on his face.

"I'm fine." he said, not wanting her to know about his dream. She sighed and stood.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. He was about to say no but his stomach choose then to growl. Loudly. She smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. Be right back." she told him. She walked of into the forest. She could feel a river pulling her. Soon she came to a river. She ran over to it and jumped in. It felt so good to be with her element again. She took a breath and used her bending to find some fish. Soon she had beached four fish.

"Impressive." she heard from behind her. She jumped at little when he talked. She turned around and saw Zuko.

"Don't do that!" she cried. "I was about to use water bending on you." She crossed her arms and glared at him. He held his arms up in defeat.

"Sorry. Your water bending can get painful at times." he said, remembering their battle at the North Pole. Katara laughed, realizing which fight he was talking about.

"Hey, you were after…..Aang." she said, remembering what had happened. She sighed and Zuko came over to the rivers edge and sat down. Katara pulled herself out of the water and sat down next to him.

"You do realize that we are thought to be dead, right?" he said. Katara cringed. She nodded, not wanting to say it out loud.

"We can't go back, can we?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Zuko sighed.

"No. We don't even know where we are and besides, that general probably planned to do something like this. Why else would he send so many of his soldiers after just you?" he said. "If we were to go back, he just try to track you down again, but for what reasons, I have no clue." he laid back on the shore and looked up at Katara. She was sadly staring out over the river with tears falling down her face. "You miss them, don't you?" he asked.

"Sokka, Aang, Toph." she quietly said, not wanting to realize her own her fears. "I'll never get to see them again." She buried her head in her hands, sobbing. Zuko sat up.

"At least you have people that will miss you." he quietly said. Katara soon fell silent.

"How are we going to survive? We can't live on fish forever." she said. Zuko had been thinking the same thing. How would they survive?

"I have an idea." Zuko said and he proceeded to tell her about his alter ego, the blue spirit. When he was done, Katara was staring at him with an astonished look on her face.

"Y-y-you **saved** Aang?!" she said with astonishment. "Sorry about the bad stuff I said about you."

"Its alright. Like I told you before, people change." He said. He looked over at the fish she had caught earlier and easily set them on fire. Katara was about to protest but he quickly put the fire out. He reached over and touched one, then handed it to Katara. She looked at it for a minute before realizing that he had cooked them.

"Thanks!" she said, taking a bite. "Its good!" he smiled at her and took a bite of his own. Soon, they had both finished off all four fish.

"So, what are we going to do?" he asked. Katara glanced over at him and shrugged.

"You can be the Blue Spirit, to steal some money." she said but she was thinking something else. _I probably shouldn't be encouraging this. Saying that he _ should_ steal. That is sooo unlike me._

"What about you? I'm not going to do all of the work." he said. She silently laughed at how he said that.

"Why did you choose a spirit that's of the water?" she asked, knowing that he knew what she meant. The Blue Spirit was a Water Tribe spirit. He sighed at that question.

"I wanted to throw people off of my trail. I'm a fire bender so they would think that I would be the Blue Spirit." he explained. She nodded. It all made sense. Suddenly, it hit her. She quickly turned to face Zuko.

"Tell me this." she said. "Is there such thing…as a Fire Spirit?"

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Sokka, Iroh, Toph, and Aang had all come up from the cliff and went to Iroh's camp. They made a fire and painfully made dinner. Well, Iroh made dinner. At least his was more edible than Sokka's. Aang had been silent all day and had barely eaten anything. Now he was just staring into the fire. The others were sitting a bit away from him, talking. They all stood and walked over to him.

"Avatar Aang, are you all right?" Iroh asked him. Aang didn't reply but he did looked over at Iroh.

"Aang, we are all upset but we need to keep going." Sokka said.

"Yeah, Twinkle Toes. Don't you think that Sug-Katara would want you to keep at it? She would want you to master the elements and restore balance in the world." Toph said. She had been about to say Sugar Queen but Sokka had tapped her in the foot. More like stepped on her foot.

"I know guys. I'm going to keep going. Its my destiny." Aang said as he stood. "I'm going to learn fire bending. And I will beat Fire Lord Ozai, just like Katara would have wanted me to." he said. Iroh stood up next to him. The others also stood.

"And it would be an honor if you would allow me to teach you your final element." Iroh offered. Aang nodded. The others put their hands on his houlders. He looked up at the sky and asked Yue to help all off them through this and he also asked Katara to help them be strong. He knew that they would need it.


	3. New Scars part 1

Hey all! KJ here. Glad that ya'll liked the second chapter, I would give you the next chapter right now, but I can't not do reviews. Which means………..TIME FOR REVIEWS!!

Dark Wolf on a full Blood: Glad you think its great. And I am updating.

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NOW ON WIT TAH STORY!!

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(Previously on 'When Elements Collide')

_"Tell me this." she said. "Is there such thing…as a Fire Spirit?"_

_He knew that they would need it._

Now on with the third chapter of 'When Elements Collide."

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"A…..fire spirit?" Zuko echoed, wondering what she meant. Suddenly it hit him. He nodded at the idea but then realized something. "Do you know how to fight with a weapon?" he asked. She thought for a minute.

"My brother taught me a little bit about fighting with a knife." she said. He nodded.

"I can help with that." he said as he pulled out the knife his uncle had given him. She took and read the inscription. 'Never Give Up Without a Fight.' it says.

"Where did you get it?" she asked. Zuko sadly sighed.

"My Uncle." he quietly said and Katara immediately regretted asking. She opened her mouth to say that she was sorry but he cut her off. "Its alright. Now take the knife and show me what you can do with it." he handed her the knife and she took it. She quickly showed him the moves that her brother had taught her. Zuko sighed, knowing that this might take a while.

"How was that?" she asked. He stood and walked over to her.

"It was good considering where you lived and were taught." he said. She frowned at him. "No offense." he quickly said, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her water bending.

"Alright. How about you teach me, then?" she challenged. He smirked at her.

"Alright. Let me show a basic move." he said. It was then that they both realized something. There was only one knife. Zuko sighed and walked behind Katara. She turned around to ask him what he was doing when a sharp pain shot through her leg. She gasped out and fell backwards. Zuko gasped and quickly caught her.

"My… my leg." she gasped out. Zuko looked down and saw a bandage on her leg. It was slightly red with blood. He swore silently and tore off the bandage. Katara gasped when she felt the cold air hit her cut.

"I'll be back in a minute with a bandage." he said. He started to stand but Katara stopped him. "What?"

"Just get me in the river." she said. He raised an eyebrow but took her over. She reached a hand into the river and when she brought it back up, the water had gathered around her hand and it was glowing blue. She reached down to her wound and touched it. It started glowing blue, like her hand and the water, and soon it disappeared completely. She stood up and pulled the bandage off of Zuko's head.

"What are you.." he started to say but gasped out in pain when she touched his wound. It felt like it was on fire but as quickly as the pain started, it stopped. He looked up at Katara and she smiled at him.

"Water Healing." she answered before he could even ask. "I think you were about to teach me to use this?" she said as she held up the knife. He nodded and went behind her.

"Don't hurt me for this, alright?" he asked. She nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her hands. "Now here is a basic move…." he said as he started to guide her through the moves. _She is really good at this considering who taught her._ he thought. _Although she is pretty… wait. Where did that thought come from?_ he sighed and turned his attention back to teaching her.

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(Two Months Later)

An earth kingdom man silently walked down the dark, abandoned street, on his way home. He had been hearing many rumors about two thieves that had been robbing people at night who were on their way homes. But he wasn't afraid of any robbers.

"I'm not afraid of any robbers." he said. He heard a sound behind and start to walk a little faster. He heard some rocks move and he spun around. There was no one there. He slowly walked backwards and he ran into something. He gasped as he felt cool metal touch his neck. He twisted his head a bit and saw a red, frowning mask. The Red Spirit! He heard something in front of him and saw the blue, laughing mask. The Blue Spirit! As the red spirit held him in place, the blue spirit searched him for his money. Soon, he found it and moved away. The other man followed. He gasped as the figures in the masks disappeared into the darkness. He screamed as he ran off down the street, away from the place that the spirits had vanished.

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Zuko and Katara silently slipped through the darkness. Soon they were back at their camp in the woods.

"That man was as poor as dirt." Zuko said after he had counted the money. Katara sighed from the fire. She was making some food.

"What can you expect? They are poor earth kingdom men trying to survive during the war." she said as she walked over to where Zuko was kneeling. She looked over his shoulder at the money they had gotten. "Not too bad. We can get some food with this."

"Not much." he said as he leaned back. He stretched out on the ground and sighed. "Your turn to go and get the food." he mumbled as he started to fall asleep.

"HEY!" she cried as she started to shake him. "I JUST MADE ALL THAT FOOD, SO YOU DON'T GET TO SLEEP UNTILYOU EAT SOME!" he moaned as he tiredly sat up.

"Alright." he mumbled. She clapped her hands and went over to the fire. The food was already done. She spooned it out and took some over to the half asleep Zuko. He took it and started to eat it. Katara sat down next to him and started to eat. Zuko ate a bit of it but he felt himself starting to drift off. He let the bowl fall out of his hand and he fell over on his side, his head landing on an unsuspecting Katara's shoulder. She had heard Zuko drop his bowl but she didn't think that he would fall asleep on her shoulder. Her face turned bright red when his head hit her shoulder but she didn't know why.

"Zuko?" she quietly said, not wanting to wake him if he was asleep. She didn't hear him reply so she figured that he was asleep. She stared up at the stars, remembering how she and Sokka had used to do that. She still missed them. She would never stop missing them. She let herself fall asleep with painful memories on her mind.

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Katara woke when she felt movement. She tiredly looked over at Zuko and saw that he was moaning and moving around.

"No……" he moaned. Katara reached over and shook his shoulder.

"Zuko." she said, shaking his shoulder a little harder.

"No, no……" he said as his breathing got uneven and he started to move around more.

"Zuko!" she cried as she started to shake him harder. "Sorry about this…" she muttered as she bended some water towards them. She guided it and it hit him directly in the face. He shot up and glanced around.

"Uhhhhh." he moaned as he shook his head.

"Another dream?" Katara asked, hoping to get an answer this time. He just shook his head and laid down on the ground, falling back to sleep. She sighed and walked over to the fire. She had hoped that he would tell her this time. Each night for the past two months, he had had a bad dream. Each time, Katara asked him about the dream, and each time he just shook it off, not wanting to talk about it. She sighed and fell into a dreamless sleep by the fire.

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(The next day)

Sokka and Toph sighed as they shopped for the items that Iroh had sent them into town for.

"I hate doing this. With all the people here, I can't see straight." Toph complained. Sokka sighed. He had grown very quiet in the past two months. "What's next on the….." Toph started to say but she was cut off by a scream.

"AHHH!!" a man screamed from in a shop near them. Sokka and Toph went over to the door. Sokka saw a man on the floor and two other men with a red and blue spirit mask on. "That's not funny!" the man on the floor cried.

"Sure it is. Right guys?" he said and all of the men in the room yelled yes. The man angrily walked to the door and out onto the street. Sokka grabbed him by the arm.

"Are you alright?" Sokka asked the man. He shook his head no.

"Would ya two be interested in hearing my tale?" he asked them. Sokka and Toph nodded and the man pulled them over to a tea shop, sat them down, and told them the story about the red and blue spirits robbing him. When he was done, all Sokka could do was stare. Aang had told him about what had happened with the blue spirit, or Zuko, as Sokka now knew.

_Just an imposter._ Sokka said as they left the town and headed for the hotel. When he got there, he immediately went over to Aang and told him the man's story. Aang just shook his head.

"Its probably just an imposter looking for attention." Aang said he got up and walked over to Iroh, who was meditating and started to meditate himself. Sokka just sighed and started to sort through the items they had bought, with memories of his lost sister running through his head.

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(That same day)

Katara groaned as she felt the sun hitting her face. She guessed it was about two hours away from noon. After a night like that, she normally slept about that late. She had grown accustomed to this life. Get up, make breakfast, fight with Zuko, go practice water bending, fight with Zuko, practice with the new knives she had stolen, fight with Zuko, make dinner, fight with Zuko again, go out with Zuko and do her job, come back, fight with Zuko some more, and then fall asleep. She may have been working with him for two months but she still needed some time to really trust him. After what had happened in her past, she didn't really trust him. She sighed and crawled out of her sleeping bag, expecting Zuko to be gone to meditate by now. But he hadn't. He was still in his sleeping bag.

"Zuko." she called, knowing that he would wake up. He groaned and rolled over, still asleep. "Zuko!" she called a little louder this time. He still didn't get up. She walked over to him and was about to bend some water on him when she noticed that his face was flushed. She reached out and felt his forehead. It was burning up! He had a fever! She reached out and shook him awake.

"What?" he groggily said, wanting to sleep some more.

"You have a fever and I need to go get you some medicine." she said. He slightly nodded, not being able to take in all of what she said. "I'll be back later." she said, but he was already asleep again. She got up and pulled out a strip of cloth from it. She tied it around his head and froze some water on it before heading into town.

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Katara hurried into a herbs and medicine shop as soon as she got to the town.

"May I help you, Ma'am?" the shop keeper asked.

"Yes. My friend has a high fever and I need some medicine for him." she said, letting her eyes wander over the items in the shop.

"Of course. I have just the thing. Be right back." he said as he walked into the back room. She looked over and saw some hiron, medicine also used for fevers, lying on the counter. She quickly grabbed it and stuck it in the pocket hidden on her leg. She was just standing up when the man came back out. "Here you go. Some hiron herb should help. That will be five coins." he said. She glanced at the packet and saw that it was small. Five coins for that little. She grudgingly handed him the money and ran out of the shop. She was rounding the corner when she accidentally ran into someone.

"Oof!" she said as the air was knocked out of her.

"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked her. She looked up and saw that she had run into General Iroh, Zuko's uncle! But she kept a straight face. He reached out his hand and she took it.

"I am sorry for running into you. I am also sorry for leaving so quickly, but my friend is ill, so I must hurry back." she apologized. She was about to hurry off when Iroh grabbed her arm.

"It was nothing for you to be sorry about. Its not every day that a beautiful young lady such as yourself, would run into me." he said with a smile. She smiled back and bowed in respect for her elders before taking off down the street towards the camp.

Iroh watched the girl as she ran down the street and out of town. _She looks sort of familiar….._ he thought as she ran into the forest. She sort of looked like Miss Katara. She had long brown hair but Katara's was always neatly pulled back and this girl's hair was wild and loose. Miss Katara's had always worn water tribe clothing and this girl wore earth kingdom clothes. Iroh shook his head. He was starting to see things again. Right after the accident he had started seeing Zuko every where. He must be doing it with his memories of Katara now. He shook his head again and walked down the road back to the hotel where they were staying.

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Katara hurried as fast as she could back to the camp. She wanted to get Zuko this medicine as soon as possible.

"Zuko!" she cried as she ran into camp. He groaned a little but did not wake up. The frozen cloth was melted all the way. "Zuko! Wake up!" she loudly said as she started to shake him. After about five minutes, he groaned and looked over at her.

"What?" he tried to force some venom into his voice but it would come. Katara held out a bowl of water.

"Drink it. All of it." she said. She stayed by his side to make sure that he drank it. The first few sips he tried to spit out but Katara stopped him. Soon he had drank all of it. "Good. Now are you……" she started to say as she stood up but she stopped. He was already asleep again. She sighed and went over to the fire to make herself some dinner. Soon she had eaten and it was dark. She sighed as she stood and walked over to her bag. She pulled out a black outfit and the red mask. _Time to go to work._ she thought as she secured her knifes and silently slipped out of camp.

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Aang sighed as he tried to get some sleep. He turned over again, hoping it would help him get some sleep. It didn't help. He had barely gotten any sleep in the past two months. None of them had. Sokka couldn't sleep for five minutes without waking up, screaming out for Katara. He had also become quiet and withdrawn. Toph didn't use her nicknames anymore, not wanting to bring up more memories than she had to. Uncle Iroh, he insisted that they call him that, had the dreams too.

"KATARA!" he heard being screamed from the next room over. Sokka again. They had out the old man and Sokka together. Uncle knew how to handle these things better than him and Toph could. Aang sighed and walked over to the window.

"Why did you have to go, Katara? WHY?" he asked the night, hoping to get an answer. He didn't. His shoulders shook as the tears came again.

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"KATARA!" had been shouted in the building that she was walking across. She had almost fallen off the roof when she heard that.

"Why did you have to go, Katara? WHY?" she heard coming from the window beneath her. Next, she heard quiet sobs. She silently and carefully edged her way to the edge of the roof, and peeked her head over it. Underneath her was a sobbing Aang. She realized that the whole group was probably there. She sighed and stood, carefully keeping her balance. She glanced at the horizon and gasped. There were fire nation ships headed straight for this town. She thought for a minute and quickly made up her mind. She peeked over the edge and Aang had walked away from the edge. She grabbed onto the roof and swung in, grateful that Zuko had taught her how to do that.

Aang had just laid back down when he heard something enter through his open window.

"Who's there?" he called. He heard movement behind him and a hand come up and cover his mouth. He immediately fell silent and the hand removed itself. He stood and looked behind him to find that no one was there. He turned back towards the window and almost had a heart attack when he saw a figure standing in the moon light. "Who are you?" he asked. The person stepped into the moon light and showed that they were the red spirit, the wearer of the frowning mask. "What do you want with me?" he asked.

_I wish I could flat out tell you but if I talked you might guess who I am._ Katara thought. She walked over to Aang and pulled him to the window. She frantically pointed towards the harbor.

"Is something out there?" he asked. She nodded her head. She climbed up on the window and pulled herself onto the roof. Aang followed. Once they were at the top, she pointed towards the harbor again. "Yes. it's a harbor. What about it?" he asked. Katara wanted to smack him. Boys could be so dense at times.

"The red spirit is pointing past the horizon, Avatar Aang." Iroh said as he came up behind them. They both jumped a little. Neither of them had heard him come up behind them. Katara ran over and patted him on the back. "I guess that I am right." he said. She nodded and pointed towards the ships again. Iroh noticed them immediately. "How long have they been there so you can clearly see the fire nation mark?" he asked Katara. She held up a finger for each minute. It was about five minutes ago.

"Those are fire nation ships?" Aang said. Iroh and the red spirit nodded. "Not good." He said. "Iroh, wake the others. I'm going to see who's ships they are. Red Spirit, you….." he stared to say to the red spirit but it was already gone. Aang spun around, trying to see where they had gone. Iroh climbed back through a window to go get the others and Aang took off to go see if he could identify the ships.

"Aang!" Sokka yelled as they got down to the docks. Toph made him trip with some earth bending.

"Quiet. Iroh said that there were fire nation ships here." Toph said as Sokka stood up and glared at her.

"Guys, over here." Aang called from the tree line near the docks. Sokka, Iroh, and Toph quickly went over.

"Did you find out what ship those are?" Iroh asked, not wanting to get caught if it was Azula's ships. Aang shook his head. He looked up and saw that the ships had docked.

"I couldn't get close enough without them seeing me." he said. "We need to know." Just as the words were out of his mouth, a dagger shot out from the dark and stuck in the tree next to him. A piece of paper was attached to it. They all gasped. Aang reached out and pulled the paper off the dagger. It was a fire navy order, that was signed by Azula. "WHO'S THERE?" Aang yelled into the forest. He looked around, leaving the dagger in the tree. He spun around and gasped. The dagger was gone. Sokka gasped from where he was standing.

"AANG! LOOK OUT!" he shouted. Aang spun around and saw a figure walking towards them. They all dropped into fighting positions and the figure raised its arms. It flung then down and two daggers stuck in the ground in front of them. They all looked down and when they looked back up, the figure was in full view. It was the Red Spirit. "Why you…." Sokka started to say and he grabbed his boomerang. Aang tried to stop him but Sokka was too interested in defeating the Red spirit now. He took a warriors pose and the spirit copied. He stood up and stretched his arms out and the spirit again copied. This went on for about five minutes.

"Sokka, that's enough. This spirit is the one that told me about the ships." Aang informed him. Sokka took a huffy pose.

"Alright, but I still don't trust him." Sokka said. Katara almost laughed at this. If only he knew.

"Now what?" Iroh asked. He already knew what was probably going to happen but he wanted to hear it from Aang.

"What else? We are going to attack." He said. Iroh and Toph nodded but Sokka was opposed to the idea. He opened his mouth to protest but Katara picked up a rock and threw it into his open mouth. Toph started laughing after Aang told her what had happened.

"I like the way you work, spirit." Toph said. They all walked off towards the ship and Katara was about to follow when a hand reached out and stopped her. She gasped.

"Its just me." a voice that she knew whispered in her ear. Zuko. She turned around and saw the laughing mask.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at him. He held his hands up in defeat.

"I woke up, you were gone, went into town, saw the avatar flying away, saw the ships, came to the forest, saw all of you, and lastly, scared you." him quickly said. She jerked the mask down and felt his forehead. He still had a small fever.

"Alright. We need you to help, anyway. Just stay in the shadows until I tell you, got it?" she asked. He nodded. "You didn't bring your swords, did you?" he shook his head.

"I brought the extra set of knives." he said as he held them out. She nodded and pulled his mask back down. The both went running towards the ship because it sounded like the fight had started without them.

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Aang barely dodged the fifth stream of lightning that Azula sent at him. The others weren't faring too well either. Toph couldn't see on the ship and Sokka wasn't good at fighting anyway. Iroh wasn't fit to fight anymore and they knew that, so they took advantage of it.

"Ready for me to capture you yet?" Azula taunted. He turned his attention back to her and his vision started to swim. She saw this and was about to send out another blast of lightning when four knives shot out of the dark shadows, pinning her to the wall. "RELEASE ME!!!" she shouted. Aang spun around to see two shadowy figures standing in the shadows of the ship.

"Thank, you. Whoever you are." he said. Katara sighed and stepped far enough so he could see the mask. "Oh! Its you, red spirit." he said with some relief. "But who's your friend?" he asked. Zuko grunted a little at being called her 'friend' and Katara poked him. He also stepped into the shadow of the moon. "Another blue spirit, huh?" he said. Zuko nodded, just as Katara did. "Could you help us out here?" They nodded and ran towards some fire soldiers. By now, Azula had torn herself free and she was going towards Katara.

"LOOK OUT!" Iroh shouted from the other side of the ship. Katara spun around just in time to be slashed by a knife. Her outfit ripped and her bandages were in complete view.

"Well, well. What do we have here? A little girl trying to act brave. Pathetic." she spat out. That was the last straw for Zuko. He rushed at Azula, being careful not to use any bending, and pushed Katara away from her. "Playing hero, blue boy?" she taunted. He rushed at her and grabbed one of the discarded swords and started fighting back. She fought back just as hard, leaving Katara clutching her stomach in pain. Iroh quickly ran over to her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, the answer being obvious. She moved her hands a little and he saw the bleeding slash mark on her stomach.

"Iroh! Look out!" Sokka cried out from where he was standing. Iroh looked up just in time to see a lightning blast coming towards him. He shielded himself but it wasn't going to help. At the last moment, Katara pushed him out of the way and took the blast head on. She gasped as the pain and heat spread through out her body. She wanted to cry out but she couldn't find her voice. Zuko had seen the blast hit her and she quickly pushed Azula away. They had been fighting by the edge of the ship and the extra push did it. Azula shrieked as she hit the water. All the soldiers turned their attention to her, letting Aang and the other escape. They ran into the forest.

Zuko hadn't put down Katara's body yet. He had carefully picked her up after he had knocked Azula into the ocean and ran. He ran for her life. Even after the Avatar and his friends and Uncle had stopped, he kept running.

"Spirit! Wait!" Aang called. "We can help you!"

But Zuko didn't turn around. He ran to the camp and quickly pulled off the black outfit she had on over some other light clothes. He grimaced at the intensity of the burns and unconsciously put his hand on the mask, right over the spot where the scar is. He pulled his black outfit off and threw the mask aside. Right now, all he cared about was Katara. The burns were bad. The lightning had gone directly into her body and she had burn marks running up and down her arms. Part of the attack had went up and burnt her face. She had three lines of burn marks going up to her one eye and curving around it. Some small lines had broken off from the main lines and made little jets and jerky lines coming out of the major ones.

"I need to get water, or else…." he trailed off, not wanting to even think it. He was about to go get some water when he heard something behind them. He felt two knives snake around his neck and stay there.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll give up all the money that you have." a voice whispered in his ear. He was about to say something but he heard a loud clunk from behind him. The knives left his neck and he stood and spun around.

"Idiot! We are here to make sure that they are alright, remember? Or do you have such a small brain that you can't remember our leader's orders." a person dressed in dirty, loose fitting clothing said. The other, the one that had had his knives at Zuko's neck, was on the ground clutching his head. "Sorry 'bout that." the one said, and as they turned around, Zuko could see that she was a girl. "I'm Kazi. The idiot on the ground is Klario, my brother." she said. It was then that she noticed Katara. She gasped and knelt next to him. "Is she alright?"

"No. She's Kata….Takara, by the way." if she had caught his name change, she didn't say anything.

"We have some herbs that can help , ….uh I don't know your name." she said. Zuko thought about it for a minute.

"Kuzo. My name's Kuzo." he answered, getting his name the same he had gotten Takara. Kazi nodded and stood.

"Are we going to sit here all night or are we going to get her some help?" she asked, already knowing what his answer was going to be.


	4. New Scars part 2

Hey all! KJ here!I finally got an idea for this chapter. But before the chapters, reviews.

Starlight: I'm glad that you think it's a good story. And I am updating, see?

Dark Wolf on a Full Blood: thanks. Updating, see?

Nyx-Night Goddess: Glad you think its neat.

PolskaGirl: Updating!

NOW ON WIT THE STORY!

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Katara groaned as she started to wake up. She opened her eyes a bit and was surprised to see that she was in a tent and not the forest.

"Oh! Your awake!" a voice at the end of the bed said. Katara tried to pick her head up to see who had talked but she couldn't move. She shifted a little and gasped in pain. "Don't try to move. You're hurt." a girl said as she walked to the side of the bed. She was a tall girl, about as tall as Katara, with long black hair that's tied back in loose braid. She was wearing something that an earth kingdom boy would have worn( think Zuko's outfit in Zuko Alone combined with Katara water nation top.) "I'm Kazi. He said that you are Takara, right?" Kazi said. Katara raised an eyebrow.

"He must have forgotten again. He always gets my name wrong for some reason." Katara said. Kazi laughed.

"That sounds like my brother. Except that he forgets everything, not just names." Kazi said while laughing. Katara laughed too. "Wait, if that's not your name, then what is?" Kazi asked. Katara smiled.

"Katara." She told Kazi. Kazi smiled.

"Well, Katara. Your friend really cares about you." Kazi told her. Katara blushed.

"Wh-what?" she stammered out. Kazi smiled at her reaction.

"Yep. Don't tell **him** this," Kazi said as she pointed to another bed in the tent. Katara could just see it and she saw a body on it. Kazi saw her trying to see and sighed. "Want some help to sit up?" Kazi asked. Katara nodded. Kazi carefully helped her sit up. Katara hissed in pain. "Like I was saying, we had to put a sleeping herb in his food just to get him to sleep." Katara looked over at the bed and saw that a conked out Zuko was laying on it.

"Yeah, well, I had to force hiron herb down his throat just to get him to take it." Katara said. The girls laughed for a bit before falling silent. Katara sighed before talking again. "Hey Kazi?" Kazi looked over at her. "Where am I, anyway?" Katara said, realizing that she didn't know anything past the lightning blast at the fight. Kazi smiled.

"You are at dasanteki camp. It means mercenary, by the way. We're here to fight with the Avatar when the time comes. We are all trained fighters. All together, there is about six hundred people ready to fight." she said. She also guessed what Katara's next question was going to be. "You have been unconscious for four days." Katara just stared at her.

"Really?" she said. Kazi nodded.

"Yeah, and that's why I said that Kuzo is a good friend." Kazi said. Katara was about to ask but she got it. Fake name. "He wouldn't leave your side for a minute. We had to kick him out of the tent so we could check your wounds. Finally, we drugged him. That was the third day. He has been there," Kazi pointed at the bed that Zuko was on. " for a day and a half. He hasn't moved an inch. We tried to wake him up earlier but we couldn't." Kazi explained. Just as she said that, Zuko moved a little. He groaned and groggily lifted his head. "Hey! Why didn't we try this earlier?" she exclaimed. One of the tent flaps moved and another girl came in.

"Good to see that you are awake. Time to change your bandages." she said. The groggy Zuko put his head back down, trying to get some more sleep.

"Great timing, Ali. Could you help me get groggy out of here?" The other girl, Ali nodded. They walked over to Zuko and grabbed his arms.

"Hey!" he said, still in a sleepy voice, though. Kazi and Ali smiled evilly behind him.

"One, two,…." Ali boredly said. She always helped Kazi do this.

"Three!" Kazi loudly said as they shoved him out of the tent. Katara smiled at them. They were just too much fun. They turned back to her. "Time to change your bandages. Lie on your back." Kazi ordered her to do. Katara painfully did what she was told. Ali and Kazi carefully unwrapped the bandages that she just noticed that she had.

"Do you remember what happened?" Ali asked in a monotone voice. "I'm Ali, by the way." she said. "And you are?"

"Katara." she answered. Ali nodded.

"Are you a bender?" Kazi suddenly asked.

"Yes and no, I don't remember what happened. All I remember is Azula shooting lightning at me and pain." Katara said. Ali sighed.

"That lightning attack scarred you. Bad. And your bending might be gone for a while." Ali said. Kazi nodded in agreement. Katara gasped.

"But my water bending….can't be gone." she said with wide, sad eyes. Kazi sadly nodded.

"I've seen it happen before. But water bending, awesome. Then how did you end up in earth nation land?" she asked. Katara went silent. Kazi was about to ask again but Ali slapped her hand over Kazi's mouth. Ali glared at her, showing a rare emotion. Kazi immediately shut up and they quickly wrapped the bandages before leaving Katara to her thoughts.

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Zuko groaned as he came back to the awake part of the world. Some voices had woken him. He opened his eyes and saw Kazi talking to an awake Katara.

"Hey! Why didn't we try this earlier?" he heard Kazi say.

_They must have been trying to wake me up._ Zuko thought. He heard a tent flap open and guessed that it was Ali. He was right.

"Good to see that you are awake. Time to change your bandages." he heard her say to Katara. He put his head back down and tried to go back to sleep. But they weren't going to let him do that.

"Great timing, Ali. Could you help me get groggy out of here?" he heard Kazi ask. Zuko definitely didn't like where this was going. He felt them grab him and pull him off the bed. They picked him up so that his back was to the door.

"Hey!" he said, still in a sleepy voice, though. He didn't like being picked up like a piece of fire wood.

"One, two,…." he heard them say.

"Three!" Kazi cried and he found himself falling backwards, out the door.

"Whoa, careful!" a voice from behind him said. Zuko got ready to hit the ground but it never came. He looked up and saw that Klario had caught him. "They throw you out again?" He asked as Zuko stood up.

"Yeah." he tiredly said. Klario noticed that.

"Kuzo, man, you really need to get some sleep." Klario said. Zuko glared at the tent.

"I **was** asleep before they kicked me out." he said. Klario laughed.

"That sounds just like my sis." he said. He tried to get Zuko to talk again but he couldn't get him to. They both went and sat against a large boulder. Soon, the girls came out. Normally, at least on of them would have said something, but both of them were silent. "Not a good sign." Klario muttered as he got up and followed his sister away from the tent. Zuko sighed and went back inside the tent. He came inside and found a silent Katara who was staring at the other side of the tent.

"Katara?" he quietly said. She didn't even turn to look at him. "Are you alright?" he quietly asked. She sighed and kept staring. "I'll go get some food and come back, alright?" Still, no answer. Zuko sighed, stood and walked out of the tent towards where everyone was gathering for dinner in search of some food for Katara.

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Katara heard Zuko come in but she didn't look at anything. All she could think about was her lost bending and all of her pains.

"Katara?" Zuko quietly said.

_Yes?_ she wanted to say but she still continued staring, not wanting to talk.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

_Do I look alright to you?_ She sighed and stared at the wall.

"I'll go get some food and come back, alright?" he told her.

_I'm not hungry._ He stood up and left again, leaving Katara all alone to deal with her pain.

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Zuko sighed as he grabbed some food for himself and for Katara. He was about to head back to the tent when a hand reached out and stopped him. He turned around and saw that it was Ali.

"Kuzo. Why are you here and where is Takara?" she asked, not letting him know that she knew her real name. He must have hid her name for a reason.

"She is back at the tent and I'm getting some food for me and her." he said. Ali frowned at him.

"She needs a friend more now than ever. Get going." she ordered. Then she walked away leaving a puzzled Zuko behind. He went back to the tent and saw that Katara hadn't moved at all.

"I got some food." he said, trying to get her to talk. "You hungry?" no answer. "Well I am." he continued in his one sided conversation for about five minutes. She didn't move an inch. "Katara! it's a little hard to hold a conversation with someone who doesn't talk!" he complained. He put the extra food on the ground by her bed and laid down on his bed. "I going to sleep. The extra food is by your bed." he said before falling asleep. Katara glanced over at him. He was asleep, as far as she saw. She moved for the first time in a while and walked to the tent flap. She peered out and saw that there were more tents outside and many people moving around. She also saw that the sky was getting darker. She yawned, suddenly tired. She went back and laid down.

"I can't live without my bending……" she whispered. She tried to sleep but found she couldn't. She put her head in her hands and found that she had some bandages on her face as well. _I was wondering why I couldn't see out of my left eye._ she thought. She turned over and grabbed some of the food that Zuko had gotten. She laid down and let her tears that she had been holding in fall.

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Zuko groaned as he woke up.

_What woke me?_ he thought as he looked around. He saw that it was dark out and that the camp was quietly so he guessed that it was pretty late. He had heard a sound and it woke him. He was a pretty light sleeper. He heard the sound again. It sound like someone's muffled sobs. He rolled over and looked at Katara. He saw that her shoulders were shaking.

"Katara?" he quietly said. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" she said in a scratchy voice. Zuko stood and walked over to her bed. He sat on the edge.

"Its alright. Anyway, I asked first." he said as he poked her shoulder a little, trying to get her to sit up. Katara sat up and Zuko saw that she had been crying for a while. Her eyes were red and puffy and her cheeks were tear stained. "Are you….." he started to ask but he was cut of. Katara threw her arms around him and started to sob. He stared at her open mouthed for a minute before lightly putting his arms around her and letting her cry on his shoulder. "Need to talk?" he said while staring at the wall of the tent. Her shoulders kept shaking and the truth came out. Her fears that she wouldn't see her brother again and the fears that her bending might be gone.

"I don't know what I'll do without my bending." she sobbed out. He hadn't said anything while she talked and he stayed silent for a minute before wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

"Its going to be okay. You'll get through this." he said as she cried some more. 'And I'll help you through this too.' he added under his breath. Soon her shoulders stopped shaking and her body relaxed. He heard her breath even out and he felt her head fall on his shoulder. He looked down at her a saw that she was fast asleep. He sighed and shook his head. He carefully moved back until he was leaning against one of the tents earth bent support beams. He let her body on his and leaned his head back, slowly starting to fall asleep. He fell into a deep sleep and for the first time in weeks had no dreams and a peaceful sleep.

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Katara sighed as she help Kazi carry some buckets of water to the medical tent. It had been three weeks since she had woken up and she had made herself busy. She had found out that Kazi was a helper in the medical section and she had started to help her. Zuko was off training somewhere while she carried water. What sounded more fun?

"Watch where your going." Kazi warned. They were starting to get into some rocky areas.

"Thanks." Katara said back. Everyone at the camp was so nice. Only two people knew that her name was Katara and everyone else called her Takara. Katara looked up when she heard a loud commotion at the head of the camp. Kazi heard it too and she grabbed on of the people that was running by.

"What's going on, Arden?" she asked the boy. He smiled happily at her.

"Lady Sa is back!" he cried. Kazi let him go and he took of towards the front of the camp.

"Alright! Katara, lets go!" Kazi dropped the bucket and grabbed Katara's wrist, making her drop her bucket too, and dragged her to the front of the camp.

"Who's Lady Sa?" Katara asked. Kazi slapped her head with her free hand.

"I'm an idiot. Lady Sa is our head healer. She is the one who taught me all that I know. I can't wait for you to meet her, she's really nice." Kazi said while starting to push through the crowd. Katara tripped and lost Kazi in the crowd. Katara sighed and shook her head. This always happened. Kazi kept running forward, to happy to notice that she had left Katara behind.

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Zuko twisted and turned with his swords by the lake. He had been getting out of practice lately. He sighed and let his mind wander while still practicing. He thought about the first day after Katara had woken, the night that he had gotten a good nights sleep……

_Zuko sighed as he stirred. He looked down and saw that he was sitting on Katara's bed and that he had Katara in his arms._

_"What the…." he quietly said before remembering what had happened the night before. Katara was still fast asleep. He leaned his head back and dozed of again. _

_-------------------_

_He stirred when he felt Katara move._

_"What the……" she said. "Oh, right. My fears confession time." she sarcastically said. He kept his eyes closed. "Oh, he still asleep. Don't want to wake him up." he felt her gently moving his arms off of her shoulders and he felt some weight leave the bed. (not that Katara is heavy). _

_"You awake, Katara?" he heard Kazi say from the end of the tent. Katara shushed her._

_"Be quiet." she said and he knew that she was pointing at him._

_"Oh, right." Kazi said. He heard both girls leave the tent and he stood and walked over to his bed, falling fast asleep immediately._

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"Watch it!" a voice called from behind him, bringing him back to paying attention to what he was doing. Zuko realized that he had gone towards the trees and that Klario had gotten in the way and was pinned against the tree with Zuko's swords at his neck.

"Sorry." Zuko muttered as he pulled his swords back. Klario let out the breath that he had been holding.

"I was about to get skewered and you just keep going. Were you even paying attention?" Klario moodily asked.

"Not really. But you shouldn't have came in front of a practicing swords man." Zuko shot back. Klario shrugged and earth bent himself into a tree. They guys stayed out there until Kazi and Katara came to get them.

"KLARIO!" Kazi shouted as she bent him back out of the tree. Yes, both of them are earth benders.

"Ow, sis. Did you have to do that?" Klario complained while rubbing his head. Kazi laughed.

"Yep!" she replied. Katara smiled.

"Guys, it almost time for dinner. You've been out here for over four hours!" Katara told them. Both the boys stared at her. At that moment, their stomachs growled. Loudly. Kazi and Katara laughed while the boys smiled sheepishly.

"Come on. Lets get some dinner." Katara said and everyone agreed.

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"Attention!" Miss Uya called from the front of the building that they eat in. Everyone kept on talking. "SIERRA LA BOCCA!" she yelled at them. They immediately shut it. They didn't want to have to deal with an upset Miss Uya. "As many of you have heard, Lady Sa has returned." a cheer echoed through the building. "Yes but she will not be joining us tonight." the whole room groaned. "She is tired and resting but she will see all of you tomorrow. You can eat now."

Kari jumped up and down in her seat. "I can't wait to see her!" she cried. Klario sighed and grabbed her before she could fall out of her seat.

"Calm down." he said before going back to his food.

"Who's Lady Sa?" Zuko asked. Everyone at the table turned and stared at him. Kazi smacked her head.

"DUH! I forgot to tell you. She is the best healer I know. She knows a great lotion that helps reduce scars." Kazi added. Zuko touched his scar and Katara touched her bandages. "Oh sorry Kuzo. I guess that brings up a painful memory, doesn't it?" Kazi stupidly said. Zuko winced.

"I'm done." he quietly said before standing and leaving the building. Klario reached over and hit Kazi on the head.

"Learn to keep your mouth shut." he said before turning back to his food. Kazi did the same. But Katara stood, grabbed hers and Zuko's plates, and walked out after him.

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Zuko sighed as he walked into the tent. He sat down and put his head in his hands. Why were all of his bad and painful memories coming back all of the sudden? He stayed like that for a while. He didn't know how long he stayed like that but he did hear someone come in the tent.

"Zuko?" Katara quietly said. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." he said as he laid down, facing away from her.

"Alright." she sadly said, knowing that something was eating him up. "I brought you some food. I'll just leave it here." he heard her put a plate on the ground and walk to the door. "Goodnight." she said as she walked out, leaving Zuko alone.

"Why do I always do that?" he asked. "She wanted to know if I was alright and I just pushed her away." he said. "Why do I have these feelings for her?" he asked as he fell asleep with Katara on his mind.

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Kazi hurriedly ran through the camp, trying to avoid tripping over the lazy people who weren't in their tents yet, in search of Katara and Kuzo. Lady Sa had asked her to find them. She wanted to meet them personally! It was an honor for them. She saw Katara walked towards the building.

"KATARA!" she shouted as she ran at her. Katara turned towards her just as Kazi jumped on her.

"Whoa!" Katara said as she lost her balance, ending with both of them on the ground. 'What was that for?" she said once they were standing again.

"Oh, I've got great news! Lady Sa wants to meet you and Kuzo! Tonight!" Kazi excitedly said. Katara smiled.

"What are we waiting for? Lets get Kuzo and go!" Katara said, remembering to use Zuko's fake name. Kazi smiled and grabbed her, pulling her towards her tent where Zuko was sleeping.

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Zuko gasped as he sat up. He had dreamt about the Agni Ki again. He had just laid back down when Kazi and Katara came bursting into the tent.

"Kuzo! Get up!" Kazi yelled in his ear. Zuko groaned but didn't move. Kazi glared at him a bit before grabbing the blanket that was underneath him. Katara came over and grabbed it to.

"One, two,……" Katara said and Kazi smirked.

"Three!" they cried as they pulled the blanket and Zuko off of the bed.

"Hey!" Zuko cried as he untangled himself from the blanket. "What was that for?!"

"Just get up and come on!" Kazi cried. Zuko glared at her.

"What for?" he asked.

"Lady Sa wants to meet us." Katara told him. He glared at both of them.

"I'm going back to sleep." he said as he crawled back into his bed. Kazi glared at him before earth bending his bed on its side, knocking him out of it in the process. "Hey!"

"You are coming whether you like it or not." both of them said before dragging him out of the tent. He fought back the whole time. Klario was waiting for them nearby.

"They have to drag you out here?" he boredly said.

"Yes!" the girls said. Klario shrugged and joined them.

"Lady Sa want to see you?" Klario asked when they got near the front of the camp. Kazi nodded excitedly.

"She always wants to meet the new people at the camp asap." She told Katara and Zuko. They nodded. Zuko yawned.

"Don't worry. You can sleep soon." Katara said as they walked into the tent.

"Lady Sa?" Kazi said as soon as all of them were in there. There was some movement behind a curtain at the back.

"Kazi? I'm guessing that you brought the two new people. Am I right?" a kind, calm voice said from the back.

"Yes, she did. And once she found out that you wanted to see them, she nearly crashed into five people and managed to knock me into a tree with her earth bending." Klario informed them. Kazi blushed in embarrassment. The voice laughed from behind the curtain. Zuko frowned. He recognized that voice. But it couldn't be!

"Hello. Its nice to meet you." the voice said. "Takara and Kuzo, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's us." Katara answered. Zuko sighed. Behind the curtain, a tall lady stood up. There were candles behind her. The curtain moved and Lady Sa came out from behind them. She was tall and wearing an earth kingdom dress. Part of her long hair was pulled up in a high earth king down ponytail with the rest down her back. She smiled at them.

When Zuko saw her his heart jumped. It couldn't be her. It just couldn't be. His stomach churned and his head started to spin. He felt like he would faint.

"Takara, Kuzo," Klario said. "May I introduce Lady Ursa, our head healer and nurse, more commonly known as Lady SA." Katara smiled and curtsied a bit. Lady Ursa nodded her head.

Zuko silently gasped when Klario said her name._ She was here? All this time she was at an earth kingdom camp?_ he head was spinning and his stomach kept churning. The room felt like it was closing in on him. He couldn't stand it anymore. He turned and ran out of the room. He was barely outside when his stomach heaved and he was sick.

Katara had heard his breathing started to get jerked but she didn't anticipate him turning and running.

"Kuzo!" she cried as he ran out.

"Is he alright?" Kazi said as they followed him out of the building. Lady Ursa followed them. Katara gasped when she saw him on the ground. His body was shaking and he kept leaning forward every so often. She gasped when she realized that he was being sick.

"Kuzo." she said as she knelt next to him. He was still shaking and surprisingly, he was crying. "Does it hurt?" he tried to answer but was hit with another wave of sickness. Katara gasped and started to rub his back, trying to get him to calm down the way that her mother had done with her and even the same way that his mom had done for him. He kept shaking but still calmed down a bit.

Kazi and Klario stood back and watched. Lady Ursa saw her started rubbing his back and remembered doing that before.

"Kazi, Klario, lets get him back to their tent." She said. Kazi and Klario nodded. Kazi quietly told Katara and she agreed. Zuko felt them start to move him and he tried to move but his legs didn't want to move. He barely knew it when they got him in the tent and on his bed. Katara put her hand on his forehead.

"He has a fever." she quietly said. Lady Ursa nodded.

"I'll go get some medicine. Girls, you come with me. Klario, get him in some new clothes that don't smell." Ursa said, taking charge. All of them nodded and went to work. The girls left and Klario carefully pulled off Kuzo's throw up smelling clothes. He gasped when he saw the burn marks that were all over Kuzo upper body. It was almost like he ran through a fire.

_Man, this guy must have had it rough._ Klario thought as he grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt for Kuzo. When he pulled them out, another outfit came with it. It was a completely black outfit that was perfect for blending in in the dark and the shadows._ I'll have to ask him later_

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"Klario, you're too quiet." Kazi said later. Kazi, Klario, and Lady Sa where sitting in Lady Sa's tent. Katara had stayed with Zuko. "You alright?" she asked. Klario had been quiet since earlier.

"It not like you to be so quiet for so long." Ursa said. Kazi agreed. Klario sighed and told them about the scars and the outfit.

"Strange." Lady Ursa said. Kazi agreed.

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Katara sighed as she put the wet cloth on Zuko's forehead again. He kept moving around in a fevered sleep and the cloth she had put on his forehead wouldn't stay.

"No……" he muttered as he turned over again. Katara sighed and picked the cloth up. She put with the water knowing that it would stay. Katara sat on his bed and picked his head up and put his head in her lap. She quietly started to sing and song that her mother had always sung to her when she was sick. His body relaxed and he stopped moving back and forth on the bed. Katara singing seemed to calm him down. She smiled as she started to fall asleep. The last thing she saw before falling asleep was Zuko.

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Lady Ursa quietly pushed the flap open. She thought that she was still awake because the candle was still burning. She was wrong. Ursa smiled when she saw Katara with Zuko's head in her alp, both fast asleep. Ursa silently pulled the balnket up over Zuko. He sighed and moved a little.

_You remind me so much of my own son. Kuzo, I think that you are even like him. My Zuko._ she sadly smiled and blew out the candle, bathing the tent in moonlight. She quietly exited, leaving the teens to their sleep.


	5. The pasts revealed

KJ here. Finally got an idea. Reviews now.

Dragon Jadefire: Maybe that could be a popular name in Earth Kingdom? Just an idea. Glad you like it so far.

Hotaru: Yeah I thought that would be a good twist. Glad ya like it and I am updating, see?

yrallih18: Yeah, I love Zutara. That's why I'm writing this.

Dark wolf on a full blood: Don't die on me. I need readers! Hehehehe.

Nyx - Night Goddess: Yeah, he does look different than he did when he was a child. And that's what this chapter is about.

powderedsugar: I was in a Spanish mood. And I am updating.

Zombie: Yeah that is sad, isn't it?

Did anyone ever notice this? In the water nation, where they would get much sun, their skin is tanned. In fire nation, which is closer to a warmer climate, are pale. Weird, ain't it?

HERE IS THE STORY!

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Katara yawned as she woke and looked around. She was still on Zuko's bed and his head was still in her lap. She smiled and tried to stretch her back. She looked out the small opening in the tent and saw that it wasn't day break yet. The sky was still dark.

"No……..stop." Zuko moaned out in his sleep. Katara looked down and saw that his breath was coming in short gasps. He was having another nightmare.

"Zuko." she said.

"No……come back." he said turning over, caught in his dream.

"Zuko." she said louder while starting to shake him.

"Mom!" he called as he shot up. His body shook as he tried to calm down. He looked around and saw Katara behind him. She reached out and put and hand on his shoulder. He tensed a little when she touched him.

"You alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine. But I don't remember coming back to the tent last night." he said.

"You got sick." Katara explained. "You ran out of the meeting, were sick in the grass, and then we brought you back here." She reached out and felt his forehead. It was still a little warm. "Rest some more. I'll be back later to check on you." she said as she stood. He nodded and laid back down, falling asleep immediately. Katara smiled and left the tent.

She quietly made her way out of the camp and to one of the practice fields. She had grabbed her daggers just before she left. She chose a spot and started going through the motions that Zuko had taught her. She smiled and let her mind start to drift towards him.

"Why am I thinking about him?" she asked herself. She shook her head and kept on practicing, wondering about her new found feelings for Zuko.

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"Very good. You have progressed faster than any other pupil I have ever taught. You are ready." Iroh said as he stood from where he was kneeling on the ground. Aang had just beaten him.

"Ready for what?" Aang asked. Iroh stretched his arms towards the sky.

"To learn the lightning attack." Iroh said. He went through the motions and showed Aang how to do it. Aang copied him and a blast of lightning burst through the sky.

"That wasn't that hard." Aang said after a few tries.

"Very good." Iroh said. Toph and Sokka came over.

"Great job Aang. Even though I have no clue about what you are doing." Toph said. Sokka nodded in agreement.

"Yes, great job. But can it beat me?" a voice said from the edge of the forest. Everyone spun around and saw Azula.

"What do you want?" Aang said, falling into a battle stance. Azula just sighed.

"Can't I come to see my uncle and brother?" when she said brother, Iroh's shoulders jerked. "Where is my failure of a brother, anyway? He wasn't at the last fight. Is he to much of a chicken to show up?" Azula taunted. Iroh glared at her.

"Do not speak ill of the dead." he quietly said. Azula spun to look at him.

"What?" she said.

"Your brother and Katara died about a month ago by a generals hand." Iroh told her. She got a dark look on her face. She turned and ran into the forest. Sokka moved to follow her but Aang stopped him.

"Sokka. Stop. She didn't even attack." Aang said. "I'm going to meditate." he said before walking off, leaving everyone else behind.

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"Kuzo, have you seen Katara?" Kazi asked as she walked into the tent. Zuko looked over at her.

"She left earlier, I think." he said. "I'll go find her." he said. He walked out of the tent with Kazi following.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked. Kuzo nodded. "Do you like Katara?" she bluntly said. His face turned bright red.

"N-n-no, I don't." he stuttered out. Kazi smirked.

"Your red face says otherwise." she pointed out. Zuko didn't answer. Instead, he ran out towards one of the training fields. Kazi watched him leave and smirked.

"Did you get your answer?" Klario asked as he caught up with her. He looked at her smirking face. "I'll take that as a yes." he said.

"Kuzo so likes her. When I asked, his face turn bright red." she happily said. "This is going to be fun!" she ran off towards the tent that she and Klario shared. Klario sighed and walked after her.

"This isn't going to end in a good way." he muttered. "Just like all the other times she tried this." he was thinking so he didn't see someone in front of him until he ran into them. "Sorry." he said.

"That's alright. Where is your sister, Klario?" Lady Ursa asked. Klario sighed.

"That way." he pointed. "She's trying to pair people up again. The new people this time, I think." he said. Ursa sighed.

"This isn't going to end well." she said. They both nodded and went after Kazi before he could cause some real damage.

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Katara sighed as she went through her useless water bending moves. She missed the feel of the water on her hands or in the air.

"Katara!" Zuko called as he ran into the clearing. "Your being looked for." he said. Katara looked at him.

"By who?" She asked, already having a good idea of who he was talking about.

"Kazi." he said. Katara rolled her eyes. "What're you doing out here?"

"Trying to get my bending back. But it doesn't seem to be working." she said. Zuko picked up one of the daggers and handed the other one to Katara.

"Here. Lets practice. Maybe it'll help your bending come back." he said. Katara sighed and nodded. They started to fight, slowly at first than they started to get faster. Soon, Katara was beating Zuko.

"Can you do better than that?" she said while dodging his movements. Zuko growled and started to lash out. Katara gasped. Something inside of him snapped. He couldn't stand the thought of losing.

"Kuzo! Stop!" she cried but her cries fell on deaf ears. Zuko twisted around and without realizing that he did it, he fire bent. The fire came out of the dagger and went at Katara. She shrieked and involuntarily jerked her hands. Before she could stop, Zuko's hands were frozen together in a block of ice.

"Katara! You bent!" Zuko said but when he looked at her, all he saw was fear. She was scared…..of him. She stared at him before running of into the forest. "Katara. I'm sorry!" he called after her. He fell to the ground and carefully melted the ice by heating up his hands.

"Kuzo." a hard voice said from behind him Zuko looked over and saw a glaring Klario.

"Klario I….." he said but was cut off.

"Start explaining, fire bender." Klario spat out. Zuko sighed.

"I will. Just calm down and sit." Klario came over but he sat facing him. Zuko sighed and started his story, telling Klario the things that he wanted to forget.

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Katara gasped for air as she ran towards the stream that flowed through the forest. She collapsed near it, gasping for breath.

"Katara. Are you alright?" a voice said. Katara didn't look up. She knew the owner of the voice. Lady Ursa came and put her arm on Katara.

"No, I'm not alright." Katara said, and she told Lady Ursa part of her story, remembering to leave out Zuko's name and switch it with Kuzo. When she finished, she fell silent.

"Lets get you back to camp." Lady Ursa said. Katara stood and silently followed her back to the camp. Soon, they were in Lady Ursa tent, and Ursa was putting a salve on Katara's face.

"My bending worked." Katara said.

"May I ask you something?" Ursa asked. "Do you hate all fire benders because of what happened?" Katara thought about it for a minute.

"Maybe. Yes. No. I don't really know. I mean, I met this really nice old man who **was** a fire bender, I don't hate him. I met the deserter and I don't hate him, so I guess the answer is that I don't." Katara said. Ursa put her arm on Katara's shoulder.

"Let me tell you something. I used to live in the fire nation. Actually, I was Ozai's…..wife." she admitted. Katara's eyes widened. Zuko's dad was Ozai and if she was the fire queen…….

"No way." Katara breathed out. Ursa smiled.

"Yes."

"But why did you leave?" Katara blurted out. Ursa's face got dark and sad.

"I did it to save my son. His father wanted to kill him, all because the fire lord at the time said that if a oldest son was given, then Iroh would be over looked for the position of fire lord and it would go to Ozai." She told Katara. Katara's mind was reeling.

"Oh, man." Katara said.

"I agreed that if I gave myself in his place and left the fire nation, never to return, he would not be harmed. And that is the last I heard of anything from the fire nation or even had anything to do with it." Ursa finished rewrapping her bandages and Katara stood.

"Thank you. I should go find Kuzo. He will be wondering why I ran off." Katara bowed and ran out of the tent. Ursa sat down and let some of her tears fall.

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"….and then we ended up here." Zuko finished. Klario stared at him. "I'm not loyal to them anymore. I want to fight against them." he said.

"I believe you, Kuzo. Or should I say 'Zuko.'" Klario teased. Zuko glared.

"You made a promise not to tell anyone." Zuko reminded him.

"What about Katara? Here she comes by the way." Klario told him. Zuko spun around and did see her coming back. "You have it bad for her. Get her before someone else does. Later." Klario said before walking back to camp. Katara had gotten to Zuko by now.

"Sorry about running off." She said.

"I'm the one who should apologize. I should have watched what I was doing and not fire bent. But you did get your water bending back." he pointed out. Katara knelt at the lake and ran her hand over the water. A bit of it came up before dropping back down.

"I'm going to have to re-teach myself. I can barely move the water." Katara sadly said.

"Oh, yeah. Klario knows who I am now. He saw me bend and made me tell him my whole story." Zuko said. Katara just shrugged and sat down by the water. Zuko sat down next to her.

"Can I ask you something?" she quietly said.

"Sure." he said, lying back on the grass.

"What happened to your ponytail?" she asked. Zuko laughed a little and sat back up.

"It was called a top knot and I cut it off."

"Why?"

"Because it represented my bond to the fire nation. When I cut it, I severed my ties with them. My uncle and I used the earth kingdom knife to do it." he explained while pulling the knife out. Katara reached over and picked it up out of his hands.

"Mind if I use it for something?" she asked. He nodded and before he could stop her, she cut off her long braid. She left the two strips on the sides alone.

"Why?" he asked when she handed it back.

"Neither of us will ever be going home. Long hair is the sign for a water nation women." she said. He got it and laid back done, slowly starting to fall asleep. "Follow me." she said. He drowsily followed. She led him to a rock wall in the shade. She sat down and pulled him down. He fell asleep and Katara let him use her lap as a pillow.

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Sokka sighed as they flew over the lands on Appa. They had been spotted again by soldiers and were forced to flee.

"Hey. Is that a man down there on the ground?" Iroh said suddenly. Sokka looked over the side and did see a man. He also recognized the style of clothing he wore.

"AANG! GO DOWN! HURRY!" Sokka said. Aang nodded and took Appa down. Sokka jumped onto land and ran over to the man. Aang went over next.

"Is that water nation clothes that he is wearing?" Iroh asked. Sokka nodded.

"Do you know him?" Aang said.

"Yeah. He is my father. And it looks like he's hurt." Sokka said. "Iroh, I need help."

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Hakoda groaned as he regained consciousness. He shifted his head towards some voice that he heard.

"I think he's awake." a girl's voice said from near him. He turned his head and saw a girl in earth kingdom clothes next to him.

"How are you feeling?" an older voice asked. He looked and saw a older man.

"Fine, I think." Hakoda tried to sit up but was forced back down.

"You won't be able to move for a bit. That is a nasty wound. Toph, think you could help him sit up?"

"Leave it to me." she said. Hakoda was about to ask how a small girl was going to get him sitting upright when the earth started to move. He looked at her. She didn't even have to look at what she was doing.

"You're an earth bender. Why don't you look while you bend?" Hakoda asked. Toph sighed and stood.

"I can't even see what I'm doing." she said as he turned towards him.. He was surprised to see that she was blind. "Old man, I'm going to see if pony tail is alright. He has barely spoken since….." she jerked her head towards him. "Don't forget to do your training." she walked off towards another end of the clearing they were in.

"Is she alright on her own?" Hakoda asked. The old man laughed.

"Toph will be fine. I am Iroh, by the way." Iroh told him. Hadoka's eyes narrowed at him.

"You're a fire bender." he spat out. "You……."

"Stop." a familiar voice to Hakoda called out from the darkness. Hadoka turned and was surprised to see his son, Sokka. "Iroh is our friend."

"Isn't he the dragon of the west?" Hakoda asked. "I don't trust fire benders."

"Iroh saved us on numerous occasions. He also has another reason for being in our group." Sokka came over and sat down next to his father. Iroh sat near them but farther away.

"Sokka, what are you doing out here? I thought that you were going to protect our home." Hakoda said. "And I thought that you wanted to always be there for you sister." Sokka jerked a little.

"Excuse me." he stiffly said before walking out into the woods. Hakoda watched him go.

"Was it something that I said?" Hakoda asked. Iroh just shook his head and stood.

"That is not for me to say. You must ask your son. Would you like something to eat?" Iroh quietly asked. Hakoda caught how his voice got quiet all of the sudden. Hakoda nodded and Iroh walked off, leaving Hakoda to wonder about what was going on.

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"Sokka?" Aang said when he heard someone come up from behind him. "Is that you?" He didn't answer but came and sat down next to Aang. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, something you probably would never see Sokka do.

"Who do you think it is?"

"Your father is awake, right? Shouldn't you be with him?" Aang asked. Sokka took a deep sigh.

"He wants to know where Katara is." Sokka said. Aang sighed. That was a touchy subject with Sokka to talk about.

"So?" Aang stood and stretched. "Just tell him. He's your father!"

"But how can I tell my father that the sister I was supposed to protect is gone?" Sokka reached into a pouch and pulled out Katara's necklace. He had never had it away from his side since…..the accident.

"Sokka……" Aang started to say but they were interrupted by a blast of fire. The soldiers had found them again! "LET GET OUT OF HERE!" they ran towards the camp. Iroh had heard them and Toph felt the coming, so they already had Hakoda on Appa.

"HURRY UP AANG!!!" Toph shouted. Aang air bent himself and Sokka onto Appa and took off.

"Aang, they are gaining on us! Use the octopus!" Sokka yelled. Aang nodded and jumped off of Appa, Sokka taking the reigns.

"What is that kid doing?" Hakoda asked.

"Believe it or not, that kid, or Aang, is the Avatar." Sokka said. Aang flew back up and collapsed. "Great job. I'm glad about all the hits I took for you to learn those moves."

"Who's your teacher?" Hakoda asked. All of them sighed.

"Katara was my teacher." Aang sadly said. Sokka had silent tears falling down his face.

"What do you mean 'was'?" Hakoda asked. Iroh put his hand out.

"Please calm down."

"Where is my daughter?" Hakoda said in a dangerously low voice. Sokka got up and climbed next to his father. "Sokka, are you….crying?" Sokka sadly smiled and pulled out his pouch. He didn't pull the contents out but he did give his father the necklace.

"Sorry. That's all we found." Sokka sadly said. Hakoda's face had gone pale by now. He reached into the pouch and his eyes widened when he saw the necklace. Katara would never have taken this off unless……..

"No….." Hakoda said. That was all he could say.

"I lost my nephew as well. He was trying to save your daughter and the fire benders broke the cliff face and……." Iroh said before breaking down into tears. Sokka, Aang, and Toph were all crying too. Hakoda stared out at the horizon, letting the devastating news set in.

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Zuko sighed as he shifted a little in his sleep. He felt so good right then and his pillow was so warm. Wait a minute.

He wasn't in the tent.

He was outside.

He wasn't in a bed.

He was on the ground.

He didn't have a pillow.

He had fallen asleep on Katara's lap!

He shot up, startling Katara.

"I don't know that you were awake. I was going to let you sleep." She smiled at him. He stretched and leaned against the wall that Katara was also leaning on.

"More dreams." he muttered. She looked at him sympathetically.

"I used to have those after my village was attacked. All I could see was the fire coming at us and my mom pushing us out of the way." she sadly said. "It helps to talk about them."

"Not for me." Zuko muttered, not wanting to bring up his bad memories. He looked up at the sky and saw that it was late. "Lets go back before Kazi starts trying to **guess **where we are." Zuko stood and held out a hand for Katara. She took it and his face started to get warm at her touch. But she didn't notice. She just kept walking back towards the camp. Zuko stared at her for a minute before following her.

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Katara had just gotten to sleep when Zuko started to moan in his sleep again. He was having a nightmare again. Unfortunately, it was about his Agni Kai.

"No, please." he tossed and turned on his bed. Katara heard him but didn't bother to wake him up. He had these dreams all the time.

"Father please. No….." his breathing started to get erratic. Katara looked over at him. This time, the dream was different. It was making him much more upset. He started to yell and scream. His dream must be really bad.

"KUZO!" she called, using the fake name just in case. It didn't wake him up.

"FATHER!!!" he screamed. He jerked his arms and accidentally set his bag on fire. Katara quickly bent some water on the bag and onto Zuko's face. He screamed as he sat out. He was covered in sweat and he was breathing heavily.

"Zuko, are you alright?" the words were barely out of her mouth when he jumped up and ran out of the tent. Katara quickly ran out after him.

----------

Ursa had been walking around the camp when she heard some shouting from on of the tents.

"FATHER!!!" was shouted. She hurried over and saw Kuzo run out of their tent, heading towards the forest. She also saw Katara run out after him.

"Katara!" Ursa said. Katara turned towards her.

"Yeah?" Katara was obviously wanting to go.

"Is he alright?"

"Yeah, just a dream of his past. I'll go get him." Katara said before running off. Ursa calmly walked after them, just to make sure that they were alright.

---------------------------

Zuko gasped for breath and collapsed by the earth bent wall from earlier. He had felt the heat on his scar in his dream. He felt all of the pain that he went through before.

"Zuko. Are you alright?" Katara said as she came up behind him. He didn't answer her. She came up and put her hand on his shoulder. She sat down next to him, her hand still on his shoulder. "Need to talk about it?"

_No……….._ he said in his mind but he couldn't help himself right now. He leaned on Katara's shoulder, tears starting to come back from all that pent up frustration. Katara was a little shocked when Zuko had lean across her and put his head on her shoulder and started to cry. But she didn't say anything. She just put her arms around him and let him cry. Soon, when he had calmed down a bit, his whole story came out. His father's hate for him, Azula's hatred, his mother's love and how he never saw her again, and the Agni kai. She gasped when he told her that. That did it for him. He started to sob again. Katara felt tears on her face now as she hugged him close.

"Its alright. I'm here. It alright." she used the method that her mother had used on her.

"NO its not. You wouldn't understand." he choked out before he could stop himself.

"Yes, I do. My home was attacked when I was young and many were hurt and killed. My mother was one of the ones that was…..killed. Then my father left us with all the men to go fight and I haven't heard from him in over three years. I understand." she said. Zuko had fallen silent. He didn't know how much she had gone through either. "At least you know that your mother is still alive, even if she doesn't recognize you." she reassured. She looked down at him and saw that he had fallen asleep. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his head was lying on her shoulder. His breathing was even now, unlike during his dream.

Katara smiled and bent down to get a look at his face. He looked so peaceful when he was asleep. She tiredly smiled and gave him a small kiss on the cheek before falling asleep herself.


	6. Mom and Yue

Hey all! KJ here. I would have updated sooner but my sister was hogging the computer.

WriterGirl3000: What was that?

KJ: You heard me, sister.

WG3000: You had better take that back.

KJ: Make me.

WG3000: Oh, I will. Cracks knuckles and pounces on sister.

KJ: HEY!!! starts fighting back.

WG3000: JUST WAIT TILL I TELL MOM runs off screaming MOM!

KJ: HEY!!! Just wait till I….. oops! Its time for reviews, bye! runs off after sister.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Yrallih18: Glad you think its interesting.

Dark wolf on a full blood: Soon, probably.

Nyx-Night Goddess: Yeah I thought about that. Sorry. Not gonna happen.

Mrs. Balise Zabini 725: Yeah it is sorta sad.

Harlequin Jade: In this chapter, he will.

Zombie: Yeah, I already know (thanks to my cuz). And here is an update.

powderedsugar: yeah, had to put a Zutara moment in here somewhere. Will be more later on. That is a promise.

PolskaGirl: Glad ya love it.

KJ + WG3000: Owwwwwww.

KJ: Your fault.

WG3000: No your fault.

Anywho, on with the story!

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Zuko sighed as he slowly started to wake up. He opened his eyes and saw that he was looking at the ground and that there was something on his shoulder. He turned over and looked up. What he saw was an asleep Katara. Her hand was resting on his shoulder. Then, last night came back to him.

_She knows all about me now._ he thought. He sat up and her hand fell off of his shoulder. "Katara. I think that I am falling in love with you." he whispered before reaching out and shaking her shoulder. She groaned before waking up.

"Yeah?" she groggily said. "Is it morning?"

"Yeah, you hungry?" he asked. She nodded and stood. She reached down and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet as well.

"I won't tell anyone." she quietly said. He smiled and nodded. They both quickly went, ate breakfast, then went and did their own thing.

"Katara? Can you hand me that jar?" Lady Ursa asked. Katara nodded and absently handed her the jar. Her mind was reeling from what Zuko had said earlier.

_Katara, I think that I am falling in love with you._ he had said when he thought she was asleep. But she had been. She had been wide awake. And she was feeling the same way towards him.

"You have been like this all day. What's wrong?" Lady Ursa stopped sorting the bottles and looked at Katara.

"I just found some things out and my mind is reeling from them." Katara truthfully answered. Lady Ursa put her hand on Katara's shoulder.

"Don't worry. It will all work itself out in time." she said before going back to what she was doing.

"Hey, Lady Ursa?" Katara said.

"Yes?"

"This is going to sound strange but could you meet me in the back field near the lake later today?" Katara asked, hoping that she would laugh. She didn't.

"Of course. I guess I will see you then?" Lady Ursa asked as Katara stood.

"Maybe." Katara cryptically said before leaving the tent.

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"KATARA! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME DO THIS!" a protesting Zuko yelled as Katara dragged him out of camp.

"Don't yell and yes, I can." she said. Zuko frowned.

"And why can you?"

"Because I know all your secrets." she teased. He frowned again, his scar moving a little. Both of them had been using the cream that Lady Ursa had given them and their scars weren't as red or dark anymore.

"But why are you doing this to me?" he asked.

"Because by what you've told me, she is your mom. And she deserves to know who you are." Katara said. They were near the end of the forest now. Katara looked out and saw Ursa kneeling by the pond, feeding some ducks. "Go on."

"I'm not going out there." he said. Katara hardened her eyes at him.

"Yes, you are." she said as she bent some water from the other side of the pond. She grabbed Zuko with it and sent him flying, straight at the pond, ducks, and his mother.

"AHH!" he screamed as he hit the shallow water pretty hard. He sat up, spitting pond slime out of his mouth. The mother duck, who was just being protective of her babies, came up and bit down hard on his foot. He yelled and jumped up like his rear was on fire. But the duck didn't let go. He scrambled out of the water, shaking his foot the whole time, trying to get the duck off of his foot.

"Stop shaking your leg." Ursa said. He did and the duck let go after a minute. He reached over and grabbed his foot, rubbing the sore spot.

"Dumb ducks……." he muttered under his breath. Katara almost laughed out loud. He had told her about the turtle-ducks.

"Just don't aggravated them and they won't attack you." Ursa said while sitting down next to him. "Let me see your foot." she said. Zuko pulled his shoe off and held out his foot. Lady Ursa made sure that no damage was done from hard bite. "Good. Nothing is wrong."

"I already knew that. And if someone hadn't pushed that hard….." he said, referring to Katara. She quickly snuck away.

"Maybe you shouldn't have resisted coming out." Ursa said. Zuko gulped.

"You knew we were coming?" he choked out. She laughed.

"You were pretty loud coming through the forest." she admitted. They both fell silent. Zuko stared out at the lake. Ursa sat next to him, thinking.

_Are you going to tell me who you really are or do I have to ask first?_ she thought. "Do you have something that you want to say?" Ursa finally said. Zuko looked up at her.

"What do you mean?" he said.

"I know who you are but I want to here it out of your own mouth." She said. He frowned.

"How did you find out?" he mumbled.

"That night that you were talking to Katara, I was out in the forest. I had heard you shout so I followed." she said. Zuko sighed. "You used to talk all the time." she remembered.

"That was before. This is now." he said, frowning. Ursa sighed.

"Please, I want to hear it from you." she pleaded.

"Mom, its really me, Zuko. Is that what you wanted me to say?" he sarcastically said. Ursa put her arms around Zuko.

"Zuko, that is what I wanted to hear for years." she breathed out. He stayed ridged. He had never really felt comfortable being hugged. "Is something wrong? You are different."

"Different?" he scoffed while standing. Ursa also stood. "I went through hell and back. After you left, I thought you were gone for good. When I was fourteen, I went into the war court for the first time and I accidentally spoke up. I was made to do and Agni Kai. I thought I was fighting the general I spoke against but I fought my own father. I refused to fight and he burnt me. His firstborn son. The same night, I was banished." Zuko spit out, tears of hurt and pain streaming down his face. Ursa wrapped her arms around him as he sunk to the ground.

"But look at the good things that happened. You got to travel the world and meet new people. Even when you became a refugee, you met new people and learned. And you also met Katara." she said. They staid like that for a bit before Zuko choked out a word.

"Mom…." he said in a teary voice. Ursa smiled and pulled him close.

"Its alright. I'm here. Mom's here." she said as he sobbed into her shoulder.

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Katara crossed her arms and stood on the only pathway that led to the lake. She wasn't going to let anyone by. She had already frozen five peoples hands or feet together. They had quickly limped off to unfreeze themselves. Right now, Klario was trying to get by her.

"KATARA! MOVE!" he shouted while trying to earth bend her away. She just froze his whole body to the ground.

"Stay there, alright?" she joked. He glared at her. She lifted her head when someone came running by her. She stared after whoever it was. "Who was that?" she asked.

"I think it was Zuko." he said. Katara glanced at him. She had forgotten that he knew Zuko's past and who he was.

"It was." Lady Ursa said as she came up behind her.

"Why was he running?" Klario asked.

"Because he is ashamed of his tears." Katara answered.

"Exactly." Ursa said. "Let's give Zuko some time." Klario was about to ask but Katara froze his mouth. The only thing she didn't freeze was his lungs and airway so he could breath. The girls then walked away.

"Wa abo me?" he managed to get out.

"Wait till you thaw." Katara called back. He yelled and screamed, hoping that someone would hear him and come looking.

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Aang sighed as he stared out the while sitting on Appa's head. He missed Katara so much.

"You alright?" Hakoda asked as he climbed onto Appa's head.

"I….." was all he could say.

"You really cared about my daughter very much, didn't you?" Hakoda asked again. Aang blushed.

"Yeah." he breathed out. "She was the first person to trust me when I came out of the iceberg. Accually, I would still be stuck if she hadn't gotten mad at Sokka." he said remembering what they had told him.

"They were always fighting. But now is not the time for that." Hakoda stated.

"I agree, Avatar Aang. We need to start making a battle plan. The eclipse will soon be here." Iroh reminded him.

"What eclipse?" Hakoda asked. They told him about the info they had found in the library. "My men will fight along side of you. And I know about some mercenary camps that would fight as well. And I know some water benders that are in earth kingdom."

"Alright. Lets get planning." Aang said in a determined voice. Everyone else agreed.

"I can send out messages. Although, it will take about three weeks to gather all of them to a spot we haven't even decided on yet." Sokka pointed out. They had made camp and were planning.

"I already had a spot in mind." Hakoda said. He pulled out the map and pointed to a spot near the fire nation head city. "That would be the best place."

"Alright. Tell them that that is where we will meet." Aang said.

"But what about the water benders? Won't the moon eclipsing the sun effect them as well?" Toph pointed out.

"It might…." Aang said. They had just found another hole in their plans.

"Do not worry. The moon will do no harm to the water benders. They will be stronger than ever." a new voice said. They all looked over but had to shield their eyes. The moonlight was too bright. "I guess this is too bright for you guys." the light died a bit and Sokka heard steps coming toward him. He felt a light kiss on the cheek before the person back away.

"It can't be…….." Sokka breathed out. "Yue?" he said, opening his eyes. There standing before him, bathing in moonlight, was Yue. "YUE!" he cried before running over and giving her a hug.

"Sokka! Its good to she you up close for once." she smiled. Iroh came over.

"Princess of the northern water tribe, I am truly sorry for what he did to you." Iroh bowed to her.

"Don't worry. Twee forgives you, Dragon of the west. And I thank you for guarding my former other so bravely." she came over and gave Iroh a kiss on the cheek.

"Who are you guys talking to? I can't feel anyone but us standing here. You guys are talking to the air." Toph said.

"Yeah. I don't see who you are talking to, either." Hakoda added.

Sokka turned to Yue. "Why can't they see you and Aang, Iroh, and I can?"

"They were not there when it happened so they would not know and understand like you three do. Remember, I am always watching over you, by request of course." she said before turning to walk away.

"By request of who?" Iroh asked.

"Your sister, Sokka. Somehow, she knew that she wouldn't always be with you guys. Bye Sokka. I will be there for the battle, cheering you on." she said before disappearing.

"Goodbye, Yue." Sokka breathed out before turning to Toph and his father. He and Iroh and Aang tried to explain about Yue and the North pole but in the end, they just had a very confused water tribesman and an earth bender who couldn't think straight.


	7. Zuko's True Feelings

Sorry! I've been really busy, so…….yeah. Lets get on with the reviews.

Zombie: Well, yeah. Thanks.

The Cheshire Katt: UP WITH ZUTARA! DOWN WITH KATAANG! In the north pole episodes, I think he fell for Yue hard because when she left, he gave her a kiss.

Harlequin Jade: I thought it was a good idea. Hehehehehe……..

yrallih18: as I've said before 'I'll never stop penning'.

Nyx - Night Goddess: I like baby talk too.

Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1: well, you'll see what happens now.

Zirra Nova: 'hint, hint'. Hehehe…. That would be awesome if you really did. If you do, please tell me! Oh yeah, glad you like the story!

Okay, I'm going to take a vote now, even before the story is done. I was wondering is anyone would like to see a sequel of this story. Tell me ya'lls opinions, 'kay?

Now, on with the story!

* * *

Aang flew over town after town, spreading the word about the attack. He was careful not to run into any fire nation soldiers of course. The next town he stopped at, he recognized. It was the town that Haru lived in! he flew down and a few men that recognized him came running. He told them to gather anyone who was willing to attack and then he went to find Haru.

"AANG!" Haru yelled when he saw him. He stopped in front of him.

"Hello Haru. Still practicing earth bending?" Aang asked.

Haru vigorously nodded. "Watch this." he said as he bended a large rock that he thought he would be able to control. He soon lost control but Aang used the earth bending that Toph had taught him to get it under control.

"Careful Haru." Aang said as he crushed the boulder.

Haru stared at him, eyes wide. "How……"

Aang laughed a bit. "I'll tell you later. Right now, we are planning something. Will you help?"

Haru then realized something. "Where's Katara?" he asked.

Aang winced and sighed. He would have to tell Haru sooner or later. The whole story came out and when Aang was done, Haru was crying.

"We will get those soldiers for that." he madly said.

Aang readily agreed.

* * *

Most of the camp was still asleep when Aang and Haru came. They startled the guards and they almost attacked them if it hadn't been for Lady Ursa's quick talking and perfect timing. They were led to a room where a few sick boys were sitting around a fire.

Aang sympathetically looked at them before following Ursa through a curtain and into a secluded room.

Ursa turned towards them. "Now, boys, what may I do for you? Not many people can find this camp easily."

Haru spoke up before Aang could stop him. "Its easy when you have a flying bison."

Aang smacked his forehead.

Ursa smiled. "Then you are the avatar? What business do you have with us?"

Aang let out a sigh of relief. "Well, we………" was all he got out before fainting on the floor.

Haru smacked his head. "Aang, that is what you get by staying up for about two days straight."

Ursa knelt over him. She stood and faced Haru. "I have a room where you two may rest for the time being."

Haru nodded and followed Ursa to where she was motioning.

* * *

(Later in the day)

Katara and Zuko were practicing out in the back field with the daggers.

Every so often, water would come up with Katara's knife when she attack. By the time they were done, Zuko was soaked.

He groaned a bit. "Learn to control that. Please!" he said while using his fire to dry himself off.

Katara noticeable flinched at the sight of the fire.

Zuko noticed and he put it out. He walked over to where Katara was standing. "You need to get over your fear." he said.

Katara looked at him. "I-I-I d-don't t-think th-that I c-can." she stuttered out because he had lit another fire in his hand.

Zuko looked at her with what she saw as a kinder face than normal. "Don't worry. We'll start out slow." he said. "Look at the flames. Just stare at them." he said.

She did.

The flame almost looked like it was moving on its own. It looked made up of different parts of a whole. It also ebbed and flowed just as water did.

She continued to look but as she did, she remembered the pain of the scars on her body. Without realizing it, she reached up and touched where the scars were on her face. She had to look away. It was too painful. She sunk to the ground and hugged her knees.

Zuko immediately put out the flame and knelt next to Katara. He put his hand on her shoulder as tears started to stream down her face. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. She threw her arms around his neck and kept crying. His face turned bright red.

They had been sitting there for about ten minutes when Kazi started yelling from the woods.

Katara immediately moved away from Zuko and stood just as Kazi crashed into the clearing.

"GUYS! GUYS! GUYS!" she yelled excitedly. "GUESS WHAT?!"

"What? That you don't have a brain?" Zuko dryly said.

Kazi glared at him. "Shut it. You still didn't guess so I'll tell you. The avatar has come here, to our camp." she excitedly said.

Katara and Zuko stared at her.

She nodded. "Yeah. Him and his friends have come up with a plan to fight back against the fire lord."

"Wow." Katara said.

"Yeah, so what are we standing around here for? Lets go!" Kazi cried as she pretty much pulled Katara and Zuko back to the camp.

* * *

Aang took a deep breath as he looked over the crowd. "Everyone, I know that you have been fighting the fire nation for many years but in a few weeks, that will all end."

"In exactly four weeks, a comet will come and block out the sun. The fire benders draw their power from the sun and the eclipse will make that power leave. That is our opportunity to strike."

"I have mastered all of the elements and the avatar state. But I need help to get through this. We are gathering people from all around the globe to help us fight in this upcoming battle."

"This will decide what is to become of everyone in the world. Everything depends on us winning this battle."

"Will you stand by me?" He asked the crowd.

The crowd was silent for a minute before bursting out into cheers.

Aang smiled at them. They could do this. He knew it.

* * *

Katara was half-heartedly cheering along with the rest of the crowd.

Zuko wasn't making a sound.

Miss Uya came up to the front of the gathering. "Alright, alright, quiet people."

Everyone got quiet.

"Anyone who wants to participate in the battle will be able to sign up at the tent next to Lady Ursa's tent. Any benders here are to report to Lady Ursa. If you have any questions, find me or Lady Ursa. Okay, you can go."

Katara sighed and walked away on her own. She was about to walk around the corner when someone came up behind her, yelling the whole time.

"KATARA!!!" Haru yelled as he wrapped his arms around her. He got a punch in the stomach.

Katara looked at him while hiding her true emotions. "I don't know who you are yelling about. My name is Takara and I don't even know you." she spat out before walking away.

Haru stood there, stunned.

* * *

Kazi had seen what happened between Katara and Haru and now she was even more confused. She followed Katara back to her tent, where she found her crying.

"Katara!" Kazi cried as she ran to Katara's side and hugged her. "Please, tell me what is going on!" she begged.

In between sobs, Katara's story came out.

When she was done, Kazi was speechless. "I had no idea." she breathed out.

Katara gave her a watery smile. "Thanks."

Kazi stood up. "I just got a great idea. You should come with the benders. You'd be perfect." she said.

Before Katara could even respond, Kazi was dragging her out of the tent and towards Lady Ursa's tent. Soon, they were there. No one else had come yet.

Lady Ursa was sitting at a low desk. "Yes?" she said when they came in.

Kazi was the first one to speak up. "Me and Katara want to sign up for the people who bend."

Katara agreed.

Lady Ursa looked at both of them. "What kind of ideas to you have, Kazi?"

Kazi thought for a minute. "Well, if I create straight arrows of earth, Katara could freeze water on them to create some sharp edges."

Katara also thought about it. That was a good way to combine earth and water bending.

Ursa thought it was a good idea too. "Fine. Just practice it some, alright?"

Kazi and Katara agreed and they left to go get some practice.

* * *

Ursa left her tent in search of Zuko. She found him sitting by the lake where they had talked a bit before. "Zuko." she said as she sat down next to him.

He didn't answer her. He just kept staring at the water.

She put her arm on his shoulder. "Something's bothering you. Please tell me."

He finally spoke. "I just don't get it."

"Don't get what?"

Zuko sighed. "Mom, I'm confused. Whenever I look at Katara, I get a strange feeling."

Ursa smiled. "You have feelings for her, don't you?" she asked.

His face turned red. "I'm not really sure!" he said in defeat.

"Well, how did you feel about her before you really knew her?" Ursa asked.

Zuko sighed and laid down on the ground. "I used to think that she was below me, a water wench is what I used to call her."

Ursa looked at her son. "I thought that I raised you better than that."

He didn't answer her.

"Well, how do you feel about her now?"

He didn't answer for a while. "I think that I have fallen in love with her." he quietly said.

Ursa didn't know how to respond for a bit. "Try asking yourself if you have or not. Then you will get your answer." she said while standing up.

He sat up. "What do you mean?"

Ursa smiled at him. "You already know the answer. You just have to ask the right questions." and with that she left.

Zuko fell backwards and started to think.

What did he like about Katara?

She was nice, kind, and accepting. She didn't think that he was a monster and she helped him out when he needed help. She didn't push him away. She was also very pretty, inside and out.

Why did she help him out?

She felt pity on him.

He shook his head. That wasn't the answer.

She felt kindness and compasion for him. She knew how he felt because she had gone through a lot as well.

Would she even be able to remotely like him?

She might be able to but she wouldn't be able to love him. Or maybe she could.

He sat up and watched as some ducks flew by. He smiled. He had his answer.


	8. Katara's feelings and a forced kiss

Hey! Not much to say but time for reviews.

Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1: yeah, that part was hard to write. Glad you liked it.

Dragon Jadefire: No I didn't. Yes, he does!

jessicadanielle: here's some more.

The Cheshire Katt: Yeah, up with Zutara!

Harlequin Jade: Updating!

* * *

Poll: Would anyone like to see and sequel for this story? Please tell me what you think.

* * *

Katara and Kazi practiced their new idea for abut two hours before they finally got it down.

Katara sat down and stared out across the lake.

Kazi came over to where she was sitting. "You alright?" Kazi asked.

Katara looked over at her but didn't answer.

"Do you like Zuko?" Kazi asked.

Katara's face turned bright red. "What?"

Kazi laughed. "You do like him."

"I'm not really sure." Katara said in defeat.

Kazi thought for a minute. "Well, I'll help you then. What do you like about him?"

"He is really nice, even though he can be moody at times. He is quiet but can also be very loud at times."

"How did you feel about him before this, when he was chasing you?"

"I thought he was a stuck up fire prince who knew nothing."

"What about now?" Kazi asked.

"I think that he was hurt badly and just wants to be accepted for who he really is, not who his title is." Katara answered.

Kazi stood. "Ask yourself some questions and see what you come up with." she said before walking away.

Katara started to think.

Why did he help her out?

He felt that she was a child that needed comforting.

Katara shook her head. Wrong answer.

He knew what she was going through and what her past was like. He could help her in ways that others couldn't.

Would he even be able to like someone like her?

Katara stood up and smiled. She had her answer.

* * *

Klario stormed through the camp in search of Katara. He was mad at her for freezing him and leaving him there.

"KLARIO!!" Kazi shouted as she ran over to him. She jumped on his back and he lost his balance, landing them both on the ground.

Klario groaned. "Kazi, do you always have to yell?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

She grinned at him. "I got an answer out of Katara about her feelings for Zu…Kuzo." she quickly changed Zuko's name to his cover up name.

Klario didn't miss her saying Zu…Kuzo. He pulled her into an alleyway. "Katara told you?" he asked.

She nodded. "And I'm guessing that Zuko told you?" she countered.

He nodded. "Now, what did you mean about Katara's feelings for Zuko?"

She smiled. "Try and figure it out on your own." she stood and walked away, leaving a very confused Klario behind.

* * *

While Aang and Haru continued on, Sokka, Toph, and Iroh went to Suki's home.

When Suki heard the commotion, she came out to see what was causing it. Her eyes widened when she saw who it was. She ran at him. "SOKKA!" she threw her arms around him.

He smiled at her. "Suki, its sooo good to see you!"

She noticed that his voice wasn't as joking as it used to be. "Sokka, what's wrong?" she asked.

He didn't answer but he did let some of the tears he had been holding in fall.

Suki gasped and led him away. While he continued crying, she managed to get the whole story out. She was crying to while she hugged him. "Don't worry, Sokka. Its going to be okay." she said, even though she didn't believe what she was saying herself.

* * *

Katara was out practicing her bending moves when it happened.

A boy that she had seen before came out of the trees and walked towards her. "Takara!" he called.

She turned towards him. "Sorry, but I don't remember your name." she admitted.

He smiled at her. "Name's Cain."

She nodded. "Well Cain, is there something you wanted?"

He didn't say anything.

She shook her head. "Well, I need to keep practicing." she turned back to her water bending.

He grabbed her arms and spun her towards him.

She tried to get away from him but she couldn't. "Let go." she said in a low voice.

He just smiled. "I really like you Takara." he said while leaning in towards him.

She fought to get away from him. "Get away from me!" she shouted at him. "I don't like you!"

He gave her a playful frown. "I really like you. I know that you can't resist me either. Don't deny it!" he said. When he stopped talking, he leaned in and gave her a kiss.

Her eyes widened. She pushed against his shoulders, trying to get him off of her. It was no use. The more she fought against him, the harder he held onto her.

* * *

Zuko was walking into the clearing to admit his feelings to Katara. What he saw made him gasp.

Katara was kissing Cain.

He walked away, his heart in pieces.

* * *

(At Night)

Katara came back to the tent after hurting Cain and taking a nice long bath. When she opened the flap, she was surprised to Kazi sitting in there.

Kazi looked over at her but didn't speak.

Katara sat down. "Kazi, why are you in here?" she asked.

"I thought that you liked Zuko." she quietly said.

Katara was even more confused. "Kazi, I do like him. I think that I have fallen in love with him."

Kazi looked at her. "Then why did you kiss Cain?" she asked.

Katara coughed. "I didn't kiss him. He forcefully kissed me and I tried to get him off and how did you know that he tried to kiss me?"

Kazi sighed. "Cause Zuko walked into the clearing and saw you. He thought that you liked Cain and he asked me if we could switch tents."

Katara hung her head. "I can't believe that this is happening." she breathed out.

Kazi nodded. "This is going to be hard to work out."


	9. Together at last

Hey all! Finally decided to update! Now, first the reviews.

Come-by-Chance: Thanks.

Akiismarina: Had to something like that in this story.

Alana: Glad you like it.

Dragon Jadefire: Don't worry. They will make up.

Kyasarin-Maarukeehii1: Yes, Cain is bad. Don't worry, he'll pay in this chapter.

Shelby: Great. I'll give you the Zutara moment soon, I hope.

Kitty Elkabush: Yeah, I know. The relationship hasn't even started and their having problems!

yrallih18: Glad ya like it.

powderedsugar: She won't be sad for long.

Lady of the Silver Wheel: Don't worry. Cain'll get what's coming to him.

Second, I would appreciate some ideas for this story. My ideas have run a bit dry, hence why I haven't updated in a while. If I like the idea/s, I will dedicate the chapter that I put the idea in to the person who gave me the idea.

Now, on with the story.

* * *

The past few days, Katara had been miserable. She couldn't get herself to eat or even move. She had been laying on her bed for three straight days and just staring at the wall, not even sleeping. 

Kazi was getting worried. She had tried to get Katara to move around and eat but she wouldn't at all. Kazi had to go talk to her brother. She stormed into the tent and pulled him off his bed and outside. "I'm worried about Katara." she bluntly said.

Klario wiped the sleep out of his eyes. "And I'm worried about Zuko as well. He's been training for the whole week. He doesn't even come back to sleep or eat, that I know of."

Kazi got mad and stamped her foot, creating a ditch which Klario quickly fixed. "I wish we could just go back. There was no problems there." She leaned backwards on her brother.

Klario wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry. Soon, I'll find a place where no one can find us. I promise and then we'll be happy." he said into her hair.

Kazi let a few tears fall down her face while Klario held her.

Ursa was walking down the path when she saw them but they didn't see her. She stopped and stayed where she was.

Kazi sighed and looked up at Klario. "How much longer do we have to stay like this?" she quietly asked.

Klario hugged her hard and tight. "Don't worry. I will find a place. Just hang on."

Ursa turned and walked back the way she had come. That was something private. She walked into Katara's tent to make sure she was alright but was surprised to see that no one was there. Ursa frowned a bit and walked back out.

* * *

Kazi quickly ran through the camp. She was gathering all of the girls to help support Katara. She ran into Ali's tent and grabbed her.

Ali sent Kazi a bored look. "Where are you taking me?" she asked.

Kazi smiled at her. "To the back field of course! I'm gathering all of the girls and telling them what happened between Katara and Kuzo! We're going to help them get together!" she happily yelled.

Ali sighed. "Okay." she quietly said.

Kazi stopped in front of all of the other girls. There were about 100 girls in all at the camp and they were all there. "Hey all of you know who Katara and Kuzo are, right?" she asked.

Everyone nodded. They had all seen the two new people around the camp, almost each time they were together.

Kazi smiled. This would make this easier. "I'm guessing that all of you may have noticed the feelings that they have for each other, right?" Another agreement. "Well, its seems that Cain has set his eyes on her and already kissed her, hurting her and Kuzo in the process. I say that we get even. What do you say?"

Everyone agreed. This was going to be awesome.

* * *

Cain smirked as he walked into the eating hall. He was ready to talk with The Ladies and it seemed that they were ready for him. He walked up to a blond girl. "Hey baby, I've always loved a girl with brains. (No offense to blondes out there. )"

The girl didn't even look at him. He shrugged and walked over to a dark skinned girl. "Hey, didn't you perform in 'A Small Place'?" he said, thinking about a popular earth kingdom play. No response. He repeated this five times and got nothing.

He was confused by the time a week was over and none of the girls and most of the guys weren't even talking or paying attention to him.

He finally put two and two together. He found Katara kneeling by the lake. He rushed over to her and grabbed her hair, jerking her to her feet in the process. "You little bi---. Just because I hurt your puny friendship with Kuzo, you got all the people in camp ignoring me? You will pay, you damn wh---." he slapped her and she was too surprised and scared to do anything.

Zuko had been walking around the forest when he heard screams. He rushed towards the lake and his eyes widened. Cain was beating Katara up! Anger clouded his mind as he rushed forward.

Katara's eyes widened as Zuko ran at Cain. He dropped her beaten body onto the ground and turned towards Zuko. He pulled out a knife but Zuko formed two knifes of flames. Zuko made quick work of him.

Cain screamed in pain as Zuko grabbed his arms and burnt them. He passed out from the pain.

Katara stood up, slowly, and walked over to where Zuko was still burning Cain. She lightly put her hand on his but he didn't stop. Katara touched his face and lightly kissed his mouth.

That definitely brought Zuko back to his senses. He looked down at Katara, who still had her hand on his face. "Katara." he softly spoke.

Katara had tears streaming from her eyes. "Zuko." she whispered before collapsing into his arms in tears. "I can't stand it anymore. I miss Sokka and Aang and Toph and Momo and Appa and everyone. Not matter what I do I get hurt. I'm useless. I feel so alone sometimes!" she sobbed.

Zuko protectively and warmly put his arms around her. "Katara, please stop crying. I miss Uncle too but I know that he would probably want us to move on. I know how hard it is, remember? You aren't alone. I'm here with you, aren't I?"

Katara silently cried on but still looked up at Zuko. "Do you mean that?" he asked.

Zuko actually smiled at her, a true smile. "Katara, I mean every word." He looked into her deep blue eyes that reflected her water bending abilities. "Katara, I've fallen in love with you." he whispered, emotion on his voice.

She was startled. Katara looked into his dark eyes and saw that he wasn't lying. "I've fallen in love with you as well." She stood straight and kissed him. Her emotions flared as he kissed her back. The fading sun felt warm on their faces as their love in their hearts combined.

* * *

Zuko and Katara kept their newly found love to themselves for a few days. They kept it a secret about Zuko using fire bending on Cain and of course, no one actually believed Cain because of the fact that Katara had healed the burns.

Kazi had to think about it for those few days before she put two and two together. Zuko was a fire bender and had moved back into the tent he had shared with Katara. Katara seemed friendlier to Zuko again and she had come back with bruises on her face those few days ago.

Kazi immediately started searching for Katara and Zuko. She had to contain herself from screaming when she found them. They were by the large shady rock slab up by the lake, Katara being held in Zuko's arm tightly, both sound asleep.

Kazi immediately rushed back to spread the news around camp. By night, they had an interesting plan for tomorrow.

Klario talked to Zuko and told him that some of the guys were having a small guy party and that they were forcing him to come. Kazi told Katara basically the same thing, except that it was a girl party. They were very surprised when the both showed up at the Eating Hall.

Zuko looked at Katara. "I smell a rat." he said.

Katara agreed. "Lets just get this over with." They pushed open the door and were very surprised when basically everyone at camp yelled congratulations!

Katara stared at Kazi, who had come running up, screaming about how happy she was that they had gotten together. Katara wondered about how she knew but she also knew that she wouldn't get a straight answer.

They partied themselves out before going back to their tents.

* * *

Ursa happily watched her son. He had never seemed happy at all, even when she still lived at the palace he had seemed angry and sad. Now, with Katara in his life, he could finally be truly happy.

Ursa looked over to where Kazi and Klario were sitting. She thought back to the conversation that she had accidentally heard about a week and a half ago. She needed to talk to them about what she had heard.

She caught Kazi's eye and motioned to her. Both Kazi and Klario silently followed her to her tent. Ursa sat down across from them.

Kazi looked at her strangely. "Is there something you need, Lady Sa?" she asked.

Ursa sighed. "A few days ago, I accidentally heard both of you talking in an alleyway. It seems to me that both of you are hiding a secret." she calmly said.

Kazi had a scared look on her face but Klario put his hand lightly on her arm. "It was only a matter of time until somebody found out. Please, Mistress, tell her the truth."

Kazi sighed. "Alright. My name really is Kazi but……………you have heard that King Bumi had a son at one point, correct?" she asked.

Ursa nodded. "I thought that his son died seventeen years ago."

Kazi's arms fell limp and she leaned against Klario. "He did. King Bumi's son was…………my father. He died along with my mom while protecting me. Klario's name isn't Klario. His name is Kai and he has been my best friend and protector for years. Now, when the war ends, I will return to my grandfather and we will ask if we can be married." she fell silent after that.

Kai put his arm around her shoulders and looked at Ursa. "Please do not let anyone know our secret. They would treat us differently and Lady Kazi would be in danger." he pleaded.

Ursa smiled at him. "Do not worry. Your secret will be kept but under one condition. Kazi, you are not aloud to participate in the upcoming battle for your own safety."

Kazi wasn't happy about that but at least their secret was safe. Kai leaned down a lightly kissed her before leading her back to the party.


End file.
